With Every Breath
by BrokenAngelOfTime
Summary: Harry comes across Draco in the Room of Requirement one night. He's playing the piano. Harry soon learns that he does that every night, and soon they form a sort of bond through the music. Harry x Draco loving in time.
1. Behind Silver Eyes

**A/N: Hello there everyone! This is my first Harry x Draco fanfiction. I have not finished reading all of the books yet, but I needed to start this story before I lost the idea inside of my mind. I already have chapter two started for this story, but as far as updating goes, I have nothing set. High school is starting up again for me, so I might not be able to update often. Reviews would make me very happy, though, and most likely cause me to update more often :3 Enjoy!**

"Bloody hell, Harry! What about Ginny? Didn't she mean anything to you? You've been leading her along all this time!"

Harry Potter had just told his best friend, Ron Weasley, that he was gay. And Ron wasn't taking it well.

Harry swallowed painfully, glancing over at Hermione Granger, who he had told this little secret to only a week ago. It wasn't like he was keeping it from them for long; it had taken him _years_ to fully accept it himself. Only a short two weeks after he finally came to terms with it did he tell Hermione. He knew that she would be supportive, even if Ron wasn't as happy about the news. However, it was only his first reaction, and in time, Harry hoped that he would come to terms with it just as he did.

But, right now, the Gryffindor wasn't thinking clearly enough for that thought to enter his brain. He was angry, upset, hurt that Ron was just trying to brush it under the rug like it didn't matter. They were best friends, weren't they? Through thick and thin and all of that cheesy stuff? It didn't appear so right now.

Balling his hands into fists at his sides, Harry growled back, "Don't you dare say I don't care about Ginny. I care about her as a sister, in the same way I care about Hermione. I'm gay, Ron, end of story. Don't try to tell me that I haven't found the right girl or some rubbish like that!" A few second years looked up from their desks in the Gryffindor common room, where the Golden Trio was having this... talk. It was more like a yelling match, but it started out as a talk, at least.

Ron's face was turning as bright of a red as his hair from holding back his anger. Hermione, the voice of reason, placed a hand on the ginger's chest, pushing him back slightly so he didn't try to size up with Harry. "Ronald, go take some time to cool off and think about it. We understand that it's a lot to take in, but being angry isn't going to solve anything."

Ron opened his mouth to say something, but Harry cut in before he could. "You know what, I'll go. When I return, I hope you grow up and learn to accept the facts, Weasley." The raven haired boy scrambled up to his dorm, grabbing his father's cloak from his trunk before returning to the common room and sweeping out of the portal hole. He tugged the cloak over him, making himself invisible to the outside world and started walking. Where, he didn't know.

After several minutes of simply wandering the castle, Harry found himself in front of the door to the Room of Requirement. His anger had slowly but surely started to fade on his walk, but it was still bright in his eyes. _'Stupid best friend I have, can't even accept my choice of a partner in the bedroom.'_ The argument wasn't as big as the pair of them made it out to be, but what Ron had said still hurt Harry. He did care about Ginny; he just wasn't attracted to her.

Sighing, Harry decided that spending some time alone would be best for now. Hermione was right, as usual. Both of them needed to cool down and think. Hopefully, Ron would accept the fact in time, but for now, Harry didn't want to think about his friends. He wanted to be alone, enjoy his own company and just have some time to settle his brain. It was hard to grab some time to oneself when one lived with four other boys.

The Room of Requirement stood before him, and he didn't think twice about the fact that the door was it's full size, meaning that someone was already in there. Pushing his way in, he took of his cloak, closing his eyes for a moment so the room could bend to his will. It greeted him with a warm fire and a comfortable looking couch. Smiling, he moved a few steps toward the fire before it finally settled into his ears. It was music, simply a piano to be exact. The melody was soft, but it was far from peaceful. It was filled with pain and hinted a bitter sadness.

Harry's bright green eyes landed on the sound of the music, a grand white piano and a tall, blonde boy sitting on a white bench, his pale fingers sliding across the keys with grace, speed and skill. His normally grey eyes were closed, as if he was in some sort of trance, his chin drawn nearly to his chest. His smooth blonde locks hung in his face, the fringe nearly in his eyes. But he didn't seem to care about anything but the music.

The raven haired boy couldn't breath. The music was so pained, but so... beautiful at the same time. Like Malfoy. The thought made his cheeks flush with a bright pink. He had just called _Draco Malfoy_ beautiful, even if it was inside of his head. Surprisingly, he didn't want to vomit afterwards. Somehow... it fit right now.

Malfoy's eyes suddenly snapped up at him as the music came to a slow, winding stop. The normally cold, dark grey eyes were a lighter sort of silvery color, but behind their lightened touch was a sort of sadness, pain that was clearly echoed in the music he was playing. There was no anger like Harry grew to expect from the Slytherin, as most of the time, they were trying to hex and curse each other. But this was a different sort of Malfoy. Harry sort of missed the curses, because the way the other boy was looking at him made Harry think that Malfoy wanted to cry. Harry didn't understand why.

As they held each other's gazes for several long moments, Harry felt the blush return to his cheeks once again. It was almost... intimate Malfoy was looking at him. They were sharing so much with simply their eyes, and the Gryffindor wasn't sure of what to make of it.

After another moment, he couldn't take seeing the other boy in so much pain, so he simply flung his cloak over his body and fled the room, afraid, confused.

Harry eventually returned to his dorm last night, after spending a few hours simply sitting by the lake, merely thinking. He was fully calmed by the time he returned for bed, glad that it was Friday night, meaning he could sleep in tomorrow before having to face Ron. He didn't spare a glance in his best friend's direction as he silently curled up in his bed, the melody that Malfoy was playing gently breezing through his mind as he drifted off into a peaceful sleep.


	2. Peace At Last

"Oi! Harry, wake up. We'll miss breakfast," Seamus Finnigan called as he, himself, rolled out of bed and started getting dressed. Harry groaned childishly into his pillows. Sure, he had gotten enough sleep to function, but that didn't mean he wanted to get out of his warm bed and be thrust into the cold world. After a moment, he got up, though, shoving his glasses on his face and stumbling around to find his clothing. Seamus was kind enough to wait a few minutes for him so they could walk down to the Great Hall together.

When the raven haired boy walked into the Great Hall, his mind was suddenly filled with the painful, sad melody from last night. The beauty of it was clean and pure. It wasn't done up with special effects, and the emotional level of the music was tenfold that of anything else Harry had ever heard. He was curious, but also saddened. Such a deep emotional piece could only be the result of some sort of pain. Harry felt sort of sorry for Malfoy and whatever happened to him to cause such great distress.

Then, his common sense returned to him, reminding him that it was none of his business how Malfoy felt, of all people. They weren't friends. Speaking of friends, Harry turned his attention to the Gryffindor table, finding his two best friends there. Hermione hadn't looked up from her book, and Ron hadn't looked up from his plate full of bacon. Taking a deep breath, Harry summed up the courage needed to face the two of them, even more so Ron, and slide into his seat next to Hermione, who turned her brown eyes up to him. She offered him a smile, but it didn't reach her eyes.

Ron, on the other hand, was content with glaring at his plate will still noisily chewing on his breakfast. He was still angry, so Harry decided that it would be best to simply keep quiet for now. They would make up eventually; him and Ron fought ever so often, but it was never enough to shake their strong friendship.

Breakfast was silent, but tense. Ron wouldn't look at him, and Hermione was simply playing as a shield of sorts from keeping the two boys from starting another angry shouting match.

Harry's eyes took in the sights of the Great Hall as he ate, and soon the bright green orbs landed on a familiar mass of blonde hair across the room. Malfoy's eyes locked on his, the grey filled with not anger, as Harry would expect. Instead, it was replaced with a soft kind of curiosity. It was almost inviting. The pain was still simmering under the glossy grey color, but it was less obvious then last night.

Harry found himself unable to look away as their eyes locked, drawn in by his desire to help, even his enemy. A small part of him wanted nothing more to take all of Malfoy's pain away and see his grey eyes change to silver in a bright happiness. He knew that a thought like that was illogical, but no one really deserved to be so sad.

After what seemed to be hours, Malfoy broke their eye contact. Throughout the rest of breakfast, he never looked Harry's way again, and the raven haired boy was left to wonder what was happening, why he was feeling this way toward Malfoy.

The remainder of the day, Harry's mind buzzed with Malfoy, his sadness and the beautifully sad melody he played. In potions, he spared a few glances over at the Slytherin, but he was never given the same treatment of being able to make eye contact with the other boy. It made him slightly frustrated, mostly with himself for being so obsessed with Malfoy of all people, but none the less, he couldn't drain the blonde boy from his mind.

It was rather easy to get distracted by his thoughts of Malfoy, as Ron was still not speaking to him, and Hermione caught the red head a few times during the day to speak with him privately. Even that didn't make Ron speak to him just yet, but Harry was willing to be patient a while longer. Besides, it gave him a reason to place with why he was thinking of Malfoy so much.

Dinner was soon in progress, and Harry found himself sitting next to Ginny. He still had to tell her, too. Fuck. Thankfully, the ginger was simply chatting away at his side, only pausing so he could nod, shake his head or get in a few words like, "Yeah, Professor Snape tends to do that," before she was off again on another tangent about god knows what. The Gryffindor was thankful for the chatter in his ear; it was nice after a day of near silence from his friends. Despite this, Harry could feel a pair of eyes upon him that he couldn't identify. At first.

It soon became apparent that Malfoy was staring at him. Harry looked over his shoulder, making eye contact with the Slytherin. His eyes were darker then they were at breakfast, but not angry. Sorrowful and grave, they were offering him a silent invite, but Harry couldn't comprehend why or where. Then, it hit him. Malfoy was going back to the Room of Requirement to play again. The Gryffindor tried to answer back with his eyes, but Malfoy had already looked away, returning to his dinner.

Following in suit, the raven haired boy noticed that his friends were staring at him in a questioning manor. He simply gave them a grim expression. "Malfoy has been giving me dirty looks all day. I figured I would give one of my own, to settle the score." Hermione was far from convinced, but Ginny didn't seem to care, going back to her mindless chatter. His bushy haired friend sent him a concerned look, and he gave her a little smile back to reassure her. He knew it wouldn't last long, though.

Harry made an excuse after dinner that he wanted to go to the library to study, when in reality he had his invisibly cloak tucked in his bag. Hermione told him not to stay up too late, and after promising her he wouldn't, Harry left the common room. He could feel Ron's stare into his back as he left, but he didn't let it worry him.

Once outside the portal hole, the green eyed boy pulled on his cloak, not wanting to be followed by some first year who thought he was the greatest thing ever or have a Prefect find him and send him back to his common room with a point deduction. Frowning at the thought, Harry found his way up to the seventh floor. The door to the Room of Requirement was visible, meaning Malfoy had already beat him there. Easily pushing the door open, he slipped off his cloak once he was safely inside. Malfoy was sitting at the same white piano, his fingers dancing along the keys with speed and a practiced sort of grace.

Grey met green once again, and Harry was unable to breathe at the sight of Malfoy's eyes tonight. They looked almost wet with tears, glistening under the soft lighting in the room. Their color was a lighter shade of grey, but they were not the silver he had saw before. Malfoy kept his gaze for a moment, not breaking his pace along the keys, before he lowered his eyes to the empty part of the bench next to him. After that, he closed his eyes, letting his head droop as he played.

Harry was torn on what he meant. Did the Slytherin want him to come sit next to him? Or stay away? After tucking his cloak into his back pocket, he decided to be brave and take a few steps forward. Malfoy didn't look up, so he thought it was safe to do so. Finally, he worked his way over to the bench and slid next to Malfoy. They sat together snuggly up against each other, but it didn't seem to bother either of the boys. The song Malfoy was playing was peaceful, but it also hinted at a sadness that was deep in the heavier notes.

The smooth, honey laced tone of Malfoy's voice surprised him. "Any requests?"

Harry took a moment to gather himself before replying. "Something sad, like a rainy day."

Malfoy gave a nod before the music transitioned into something a bit slower, sad with a few well placed sparks of hope. It was almost like the other boy could read him better then he could himself. He decided to simply enjoy the music as it was, rather then think deeply about the meaning. Closing his eyes, Harry leaned back slightly, careful not to lose his balance. He could feel the warmth of the other body beside him, as they were touching at the thighs and the shoulders. It wasn't much, but it was strangely comforting. Harry's life was so... hectic, busy and full of things that he wasn't sure he was ready to face yet. But here, with Malfoy, none of it seemed to matter anymore. They were simply two people, enjoying the sounds of a piano together.

The thought made him smile slightly as he drifted in his thoughts, the music flowing swiftly in his ears.

Peace like that couldn't last forever though, and too soon for Harry's taste, Malfoy was bringing the cover down upon the keys of the piano and standing up from the bench. Harry couldn't help himself as he asked, "Will you be here again tomorrow?"

Malfoy's answer was quiet, but honest. "Yes, but I will not be playing. I have other things I must attend to."

Harry didn't exactly know what those "other things" were, but he simply gave a nod in reply before Malfoy left the room, and Harry was left sitting on the ground as the vision faded along with Malfoy, like a dream or a lost memory.


	3. Understanding

Harry hadn't gone back to the Room of Requirement for several days, nor had Malfoy given him any sign he was welcome to. The Gryffindor didn't even know if Malfoy played anymore. It could have just been those two nights, and nothing more then that. Maybe he wasn't upset anymore, so he felt no need to play. Maybe the sadness had simply passed by like a whispering wing, and he was back to his smart, arrogant self. Harry tried to convince himself of this, but whenever he would throw a glance at Malfoy, it was far from the case. His grey eyes were still clouded over with fear, with sadness, with a deep set depression that was hard to shake. A part of Harry still pitted the Slytherin, but he couldn't waste time on Malfoy's troubles. He had enough of his own for everyone.

Without a distraction, Harry was forced to endure the silence between him and his best friends for another two days before Ron finally spoke to him. "Hey, Harry. Do you want to go down to Hogsmeade this weekend? I'm dying for some sweets from Honeydukes." The raven haired boy gave a nod and a smile at his friend, gladly accepting his invite. Harry was glad to have his best friend back.

After some progress was made with Ron, Harry started working up the courage to tell Ginny. Several times he tried to imagine her reaction, and each time he winced. He didn't want to hurt her, but he knew he would in some way by telling her the truth. She was hopelessly in love with, after all, so rejection was going to sting in some way or another.

It was an early Saturday morning, and the Quidditch was starting soon, so the Gryffindor team had booked the pitch. Harry was captain, and Ginny and Ron were on the team, so it was the perfect opportunity for him to talk to Ginny. Ron would understand if his sister got mad at Harry, at least, and he had some sort of support from his best friend.

Practice was over, and Harry asked Ginny to stay behind so he could talk to her. She got all googly eyed on him, playing with her now free hair and leaning into him more then he was comfortable with. "What did you want to talk about, Harry?" Her voice was soft and airy, and her perfume smelled... nice. Not attractive, per say, but nice none the less. He swallowed thickly, trying to push past the pain he was going to cause her.

"Ginny, I wanted to tell you something. Something important, but I have a feeling you aren't going to like it." She gave him a look of curiosity before he simply blurted it out. "I'm gay, Ginny. Always have been, always will be. I'm sorry I hadn't accepted it soon-"

Harry was greeted by a hard smack in the face from her hand. It tossed his head to the side. "I deserved that," he muttered, rubbing his now red cheek.

"You bet your arse you do!" Her tone was angry, and tears of frustration were running down her cheeks. He reached out to comfort her, but she slapped his hands away before turning and storming to the locker room.

Harry sighed, touching his face. A thick hand clasped on his shoulder. "Tough luck, mate. I'm glad you did it, but I don't think that she'll be talking to you for a while." The raven haired boy nodded at Ron's words, swallowing thickly. Fuck. It was going to be a long road coming out.

Lunch soon rolled around, and while Ginny wasn't present (Hermione heard she was crying in her dorm and refusing to talk to anyone), the other Gryffindors weren't treating him any different. Ron had asked earlier if he could explain what was going on to a few of the girls in Ginny's dorm who were concerned about their roommate, and Harry gave him the okay to tell them. Now that he came out to the important people in his life personally, the rest of the school could learn about his sexuality as well. The rumor (though true) would spread like wildfire, and most likely become twisted along the way. Harry knew it would happen, and he would attempt to set the record straight, but it was hard to keep up with the rate of it spreading. Whatever. He didn't need everyone to accept him. His best friends did, and that was more then enough for him.

Ron and Hermione were chatting with him during lunch, making up for the past few days of quiet nicely. Hermione was asking them about their homework and classes, and Ron snuck in a few burning questions to Harry about his sexuality. He seemed relieved that his best friend wasn't dating anyone, and the green eyed man wasn't sure why, but it wasn't really any of his business. The other man respected his privacy, so Harry would do the same.

Toward the end of lunch, Harry became aware of a pair of eyes watching him from a table over, and he looked up only to find himself eye-locked with none other then Malfoy. His grey eyes were light today, curious and almost comforting, in a way. The way he was looking at Harry told the Boy-Who-Lived one thing: Malfoy knew. He knew that Harry was feeling upset, a bit sad that he had to hurt Ginny. He could read the man like Hermione could read a book. This realization hit him like a ton of bricks, leaving him breathless for a moment before he swallowed, his eyes still locked with Malfoy. The Slytherin raised an eyebrow in curiosity, but then his lip curled just so, and it took Harry a moment to notice that he was sort of smiling. There was a tiny nod that Malfoy gave him before breaking the eye contact and returning to his friend's conversation. The Gryffindor instantly understood the nod; Malfoy was telling him he could return to the Room of Requirement tonight to listen to the blonde play. A smile touched his lips at the thought as he finished up his lunch.

Harry was buzzing with an excitement that he hadn't felt in a long time. He could barely keep his mind on potions as he carefully stirred his potion three times clock-wise then once counter-clock-wise. Malfoy was going to play again. Harry wasn't sure if he was just doing it for Harry's sake, or if he just felt like playing again. A part of him kind of wanted it to be because he wanted to play for the raven haired boy, but he knew better then that. Malfoy was selfish; he wouldn't go out of his way to help others, even more so _Harry Potter_. Still, it didn't take away from his excitement to hear the music that the blonde produced with the keys. He didn't know if Malfoy wrote his own stuff, or if he simply memorized many songs that were written by others, but he didn't care either way, as it was pleasing to his ear and his emotions.

His potions turned out okay in the end, despite his distracted mind. Well, mostly because he had Ron as a partner, and the red head was actually paying attention to the potion for once. Maybe he was spending too much time with Hermione. The thought made him smirk a bit as Slughorn checked the color and texture of their potion. He frowned slightly at it, but kept any comments he had to himself and wrote down a grade before going over to Hermione and Neville's caldron, which was a pretty bright blue color. Theirs was closer to green, but apparently, it was good enough. Slughorn must have been actually paying attention to time today, because sometimes, he lost track of time and didn't give them enough time to clean up before class ended. Today was not one of these days, thankfully, so they cleaned out the caldron with a few minutes to spare. This only served to heighten Harry's mood even more.

The rest of the afternoon and evening passed quietly, but dragged a bit as it got closer to a decent hour to meet with Malfoy. He hadn't told his friends about the meetings, mostly because he didn't want to deal with the drama that went with it. Ron hated Draco with an iron passion, and Harry had just gotten over his friend not speaking to him, so he wanted to stay on his good side for a while longer before he broke any bad news. Besides, it was only a once in a while thing; it wasn't like he was actually friends with Malfoy, or anything. They were just being... civil toward each other.

Harry told his friends that he was going to the library to see if he could find his lost book (which in reality was just tucked under his bed), and that he would most likely stay in the library to finish up an essay for Charms class. Ron panicked slightly, as he forgot about the essay, and Hermione told him she wanted to read it over before he turned it in. He smiled, allow her the pleasure before disappear out the portal hole. Tugging the silky cloak over his head, Harry quietly walked up to the seventh floor.

Upon arriving at the wall, he didn't find the door like he normally did. He was faced with just a wall. Frowning, the raven haired boy made an image in his head of what he wanted the room to look like. A piano, of course, along with a large, fluffy red couch and a blazing fire to keep them warm; the image stayed stuck in his head as he walked past the wall three times. The door appeared before him, and the room inside was very much how he pictured it. Smiling, he sat down on the couch in front of the fire, taking of his cloak before taking out his Charms essay. After all, he did need to finish it sometime before Friday, when it was due. Hopefully, he could get some work done before Malfoy arrived.

Harry was nearly done with his essay (three parchments' worth) before the door opened, revealing a flustered Malfoy. His hair was out of place, and was that a bruise forming on his jaw. Harry's heart skipped a beat at the thought of the blonde boy getting beat up. Standing up, his voice was full of concern when he asked, "What happened to you?"

Malfoy didn't speak. He simply flattened out his hair a bit before walking briskly to the piano, moving the key cover off before his fingers quickly started dancing along the keys. Harry frowned, putting his things away in his bag before going to sit next to the Slytherin on the bench. Malfoy didn't look at him when he sat down, concentrating on the music pouring from the keys. It was upset, almost frightened. It hinted that the fight was one sided, and Malfoy was not on the winning side for that matter.

Frowning still, Harry waited, still expecting an answer. Finally, the song ended, and the blonde rested his fingers on the keys, still looking down at his hands. He didn't move for several long moments before he gave Harry his answer. "Pansy didn't like when I broke up with her, so she talked some seventh year Slytherin boys into beating me up. Snape caught them before they could get me too bad. I couldn't afford hexing them, as Dumbledore is already keeping a close eye on me." His voice was soft, weak and down right depressing. Harry wasn't sure what to do. In one way, he wanted to offer some comfort for the other boy, but it was Malfoy, and in all honesty, the Gryffindor wasn't sure if the blonde would accept any pity from him. So, he stayed silent.

Malfoy picked up on playing again, still not looking at the other male. This song was more relaxed, but quite depressing in the same sense. Harry found himself closing the eyes and concentrating on the emotions in the music, allowing the sounds to wrap around him and embrace him. Far too soon, the song ended, leaving Harry blinking and shaking himself from his little dream world. Malfoy was looking at him, studying him with dark grey eyes, clouded with sadness and pain, much like the first night he found him playing.

"Is it true?"

Harry opened his mouth to ask for clarification about what the other was talking about, but Malfoy beat him to it. "The rumor that you're gay, and that the Weaselette found you having sex with a guy, and now she's crying in her dorm."

The raven haired boy smiled at how wild the rumor had gotten in only a day. "The first part and the last part are true. I'm gay, and I told Ginny so she got upset. She never found me having sex with a guy, though, not that I have in the first place."

Malfoy nodded, giving him a brief look before returning to the music, which Harry was more then happy for. The blonde played a few more songs, one of which Harry requested, before he stopped almost abruptly. "I told Pansy I broke up with her because she's a whiney bitch, but in reality, I'm gay." His grey eyes turned up to Harry's green ones, filled with anger, but also had the reflection of fear. "If you say a word to anyone about it, you'll regret opening your mouth. Even more so to Granger or Weasley."

Harry wasn't surprised at Malfoy's hostile words, because he understood. He understood the fear of coming out, the fear of people knowing, the fear of being pushed into walls, the fear of falling to jokes and pranks about sucking dicks and being a bottom. The fear of being thought of differently. Harry offered the other boy a smile, keeping eye contact to portray his honesty of his promise. "It's not my secret to tell."

Malfoy watched his eyes for a few moments, reading into the raven haired boy before he seemed to accept that he was being truthful. He moved to close the key cover, and Harry frowned. He didn't want to leave yet. He couldn't stop his tongue from asking, "When will I see you again?"

The Slytherin's eyebrows shot up in surprise, and a smirk curved its way onto his lips. "Oh? Getting attached are we, Potter?"

His cheeks lit up in a flaming blush. "Well, uh, I just like listening to you play..." He trailed off, hoping that Malfoy wouldn't hold this over his head.

Malfoy smirked at him still, but his eyes were bright, calm and easy going. "I'll be here again tomorrow night." Closing the key cover, he stood up, grabbed his bag and swept out of the room so gracefully that Harry couldn't help but stare. The boy flushed brightly when he noticed that he had, briefly, let his eyes trail down to Malfoy's arse as he left.

Shaking away the thought, Harry grabbed his things, tossing the clock over him and following in suit of the blonde boy and leaving. When he returned to the dorms, Ron was snoring quietly in his bed, and the three other boys were asleep as well. As quietly as possible, he changed into his sleeping pants before crawling into bed. The last thought that entered his head was Malfoy's graceful exit, the way his hips moved a bit when he walked, the perfectly soft curves of his body...


	4. Playful Flirting to Painful Tears

'_Harry found himself outside the Room of Requirement door. However, he didn't conjure this room; it was already made up. Opening the door with an eased mind, he found a small room on the other side of the door with a large bed and a warm fire. A milky, silken voice greeted him in a near purr. "I've been waiting for you." Pale, smooth hands wrapped around his hips, pulling him firmly up against a taller, thinner body. Harry smiled, gladly wrapping his hands around the other man's neck, burrowing one into the nearly white blonde locks. _

"_You're talking too much," the raven whispered before his mouth crashed down upon Draco's. Tongues met quickly, battling for dominance. Draco won, as usually, and started backing them up to the bed, grip still firm around his hips. Once they hit the bed, clothing started flying. Draco's fingers reached for the waist band of his boxers and tugged them-'_

"Mate, wake up! We're going to miss breakfast." Ron's voice broke Harry's dream world, and the smaller man sat up with a gasp, running a hand through his hair. Ron gave him a curious look, and Harry was quick to cover up.

"I was having a bad dream."

The ginger frowned. "Again? I thought the nightmares went away..."

"It wasn't a nightmare. It just wasn't a happy dream."

Ron looked at him for a moment before shrugging. "Whatever, mate. Get dressed. Class starts in twenty minutes, and I'm not missing breakfast."

Harry gave him a smile and a chuckle as he quickly found his school shirt and jumper, tugging them on. Ron never missed a meal.

Malfoy wasn't at breakfast, thankfully. Harry didn't know if he could look at the other boy without blushing, remembering clearly how his hands skillfully tugged off his jeans before-

The raven cut off his thoughts, not wanting to think about or admit to himself that the dream was arousing. He had just come to terms with being attracted to guys, but being attracted to Malfoy was a completely different story. Shivering at the thought, he quickly filled his stomach before Hermione was dragging him off to their first class together.

During the morning classes, Harry tired to keep his mind on his school work, mostly in order to keep any thoughts of Malfoy free from his mind, and for the fact that he had slacked off the past few days. With thoughts of Malfoy, but at least those thoughts weren't... sexual. Flushing a bit around his neck, he scribbled down another note onto his parchment, determined to _not_ think about it.

Hermione seemed to be in a very studious mood, so during lunch she asked Harry and Ron questions from their morning lessons. Harry normally hated doing school work during meals, but he knew Malfoy was sitting across the hall, staring at the back of his head (those grey eyes were practically _drilling_ into his back), so he was more then happy for a distraction.

However, she ran out of questions a few minutes before lunch ended, and Harry couldn't help himself, sparing a glance over his shoulder at Malfoy. The Slytherin raised his eyebrows in a silent sort of question; Harry's face lit up like a Christmas tree, and he scrambled to turn around. Ron was concerned for his friend and asked what was wrong. Harry assured him that it was nothing before changing the subject, drinking some pumpkin juice to help cool down his face. Fuck, he couldn't even _look_ at the blonde without the dream flashing through his mind. If it didn't stop, he wasn't sure how he was going to face Malfoy later tonight. This alone brought on another wave of heat to his face, and he was glad that Ron and Hermione were too busy collecting their things to notice. Harry joined them, eager to get away from Malfoy before the Slytherin noticed how he was acting around him. If he hadn't already. The thought made him frown a bit as he followed his friends out of the Great Hall.

Snape was extra cruel in Defense Against the Dark Arts class, and for once, Harry was happy for it. It provided him with a slightly pissed off mood, which was an improvement from being horny after Malfoy walked by the classroom of his last class. Harry had noticed his footsteps, glancing over with mild interest. Their eyes met, and dear god, Harry wasn't sure if he had enough blood in him to heat up his face with a blush that bright _and_ rush blood to his crouch. He had to shift some in his seat after all, keeping his head down until the blush faded and the flashes of his dream stopped.

Hermione was sitting next to him during DADA today, early raising her hand like always. She got yelled at by Snape twice for simply blurting out the answer, and Harry's anger simmered as Hermione frowned after losing ten pointes for their house. The bushy haired girl tried to calm him down, but he wouldn't let her. He wanted to be mad. It would keep his mind in a different place then it had been all day. He overheard Ron whispering to Hermione as they left potions for dinner, "Just let him simmer down on his own. You know how his temper gets." Harry was glad that at least Ron was somewhat sensible.

Dinner was nerve wracking. Malfoy was there, of course, and the Golden Trio was late, so Harry was forced to sit so he was facing the Slytherin table. The blonde (much to his dismay) was sitting so he was looking right at the Gryffindor table, at Harry to be specific. Harry wished that Ginny would come sit next to him and slap him again, just so his attention could be else where. But she sat at the far end of the table, with her dorm mates. She looked better then yesterday (or, at least, how he assumed she would look after so much crying), but Harry knew that she still didn't want to see or talk to him.

Frowning, the raven kept his eyes down at his dinner, though his stomach was in knots, not allow him to eat. He sipped at his pumpkin juice instead, and those eyes were upon him, he just knew. A blush was creeping upon his ears, but he forced it down before it could spread. Looking beside him at Ron, he talked to his friend about Quidditch. The other man, in between stuffing his face, chatted eagerly about the game. In the end, though, the food kept his attention more so then anything else, and the pair lost their conversation.

Harry still felt those eyes upon him, and after a few deep breaths, he managed to look up and meet the other's gaze. Malfoy's eyes were sparkling silver, playful and arrogant. He was smirking clearly at the Gryffindor, almost challenging him. Harry felt his face heating up a bit, and he glared back at the blonde. Malfoy only smirked more, running a hand through his hair. Harry's breath caught in his throat at the attractiveness of this action, and he was forced to look back down at his empty plate as his blush came full on. He looked up again after a moment, and Malfoy was giving him this look, wiggling his eyebrows in a suggestive way. Was Malfoy _flirting_ with him? The thought made him flush more as he dropped his gaze, not daring to look up for the remainder of dinner. If Ron or Hermione noticed, they didn't say anything, and for once, Harry was glad that they didn't. He didn't want to have to explain himself, because he didn't have any idea what was going on, either.

After dinner was finished, Harry trailed his friends back to the common room, wondering if he should even go see Malfoy tonight. Despite the teasing (and the... flirting), the blonde's eyes were bright with laughter, and Harry wondered what kind of music he knew when he was in a happy mood. In the end, curiosity won the battle, and he managed to sneak away from his friends long enough to slip on his invisibility cloak over his body and tiptoe out the portal hole. The fat lady winked at him, the only other one who knew about when he got back at night. Flushing under the cloak, he took a deep breath and made the walk to the Room of Requirement.

The door was there when he arrived, meaning Malfoy was in there. Fuck. He suddenly wished he hadn't come at all. Frowning, he thought about going back, but a blonde head of hair poked out the door, looking at Harry's floating head. He raised an eyebrow. "I didn't think you would show, with the way you've been avoiding me all day, more so then normal." Harry swallowed, pushing his way into the room to take of his cloak. No turning back now.

Malfoy was closer then he wanted him, so Harry took a step toward the couch and the fire (the Slytherin had picked up on Harry's habit of being warm). Sitting down, he glared over at Malfoy, who was now standing a few feet from the couch. "I haven't been avoiding you."

"Bullshit. You wouldn't even look at me during meals, except twice, and you were blushing up a storm." He moved closer. Too close. Harry felt his cheeks turning more and more red.

"I wasn't blushing, Malfoy. I had my jumper on, and it was warm in the Great Hall."

"Potter, you're blushing right now, too."

"Am not." His cheeks burned brighter, and he kept his eyes on his shoes.

Malfoy smirked, taking a seat next to Harry. Much, much too close for his taste. "What's wrong, Potter? Do I make you blush?" His voice was smooth, smooth as honey.

Harry didn't answer, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. He could handle this. Just because he had one dirty dream about Malfoy didn't mean he was in love with him, or something.

"Potter?"

"Yes?"

"You're cute when you're flustered." The Gryffindor felt his face heat up again. Fuck. Malfoy smirked before getting up from the couch and going over to the piano. His fingers danced across the keys in an upbeat tune. It was happy, but also relaxing and pretty calm. Harry knew it was a bad idea, but needed to get closer to hear it better. He ended up sitting on the edge of the bench, trying to keep some distance between them.

The silence between them stretched on for several minutes, filled only by music that, Harry noted, was slowing down some and getting a bit sadder. The raven looked up at Malfoy, finding his silver eyes a darker grey now. He was thinking about something sad.

Harry moved without thought, shifting to sit closer to the other man, gently pressing their shoulders together. Malfoy didn't react to this, but he seemed to relax slightly. It was odd, really, with the blonde. One minute they could want to kill each other, the next they were teasing, and a minute later they were mopping together. Or maybe Malfoy was just bipolar, or something.

The thought was amusing. It was a little while longer when Malfoy stopped playing, looking over at Harry. His eyes were dark now, full of fear, pain and sadness. "Potter, why are you here?"

This question puzzled him. Did he need a reason now? He couldn't think of one even if he tried. "Honestly? I have no idea. Why do you keep inviting me back?"

Malfoy bit his lip, looking down at his hands, which rested on the keys. "I don't know."

Harry watched him for a moment before noticing that yes, those were tears leaking out of his eyes. "Maybe because you're lonely?"

The Slytherin looked at him sharply for a moment, and Harry knew he was right, even if Malfoy denied it. "Of course not, Potter. I have friends, Blaise, Crabb, Goyle."

"Your gang doesn't seem like actual friends, Malfoy. More like... arm candy of a sort."

Malfoy glared at him. "What do you know of my relationship with my friends?"

"Well, half the time, you don't even like them." Malfoy's look softened a bit, and Harry smiled at him. "And they only seem to stay around you because they fear you, not care about you, like real friends."

Malfoy sighed, rubbing his eyes. He didn't say anything, but it was more the enough for Harry to understand. "Malfoy..." He paused, trying to think of the right words. "If you... if you need someone to talk to, you can talk to me."

The Slytherin blinked at him for a moment before shaking his head. "I'm not a Hufflepuff, Potter. I don't need someone to talk to about my feelings." Harry thought it was a good sign that he was actually aware that he had feelings in the first place.

"I know, but if there is something you can't talk about with your... friends, I want you to know that you can tell me, if you want. I haven't told anyone about your sexuality, so you know you can trust me." Malfoy studied him for several long moments before sighing again and rubbing his eyes, moving the remaining tears. Harry reacted out carefully, playing a hand on the other man's shoulder and giving it a squeeze. Malfoy didn't say anything after that, but Harry knew that he got his point across. After all of this time of them hating each other, they seemed to understand each other better then anyone else. The phrase 'keep your friends close, your enemies closer' came to mind. He could read Malfoy like a book, and vice-versa. And that was something they could go off of, at least.

**A/N: So... I'm going camping right after school tomorrow until Sunday night. I'm leaving you with this sorta cliffy until then, because I'm mean and stuff ;D Don't expect an update until Tuesday. After Tuesday, you can yell at me. Hopefully Monday after school, though :3 I'll think of the next chapter while camping, but I shall leave you with this idea I have: Harry goes out with Ron on Saturday to buy sweets and spend time with his best friends, and he returns to school. Malfoy isn't at dinner, though, and Harry starts to worry. Find out the rest of this chapter when I return ;3**


	5. Comforting Draco

**A/N: So, we came home earlier then I thought. So I got this up early! I hope it's okay; I wrote it on paper camping, then typed it up when we got back. Harry's finally using Draco's first name :3 Things are starting to heat up, man! Harry with face his own angst next chapter. I'm trying to be nice to Ginny, but she is going to be a bit of a whiny bitch for a while. She'll come around... in time. Reviews make me happy :3 Let me know if you liked it/didn't like it/hate it/love it/?**

**Kay, I'll let you read now ;3**

Harry awoke Saturday morning bright eyed and high spirited. Ron, Hermione and himself were going into Hogsmeade for the day. It would be nice to enjoy his friend's company, as of late, he hadn't spent a lot of time with him. His meetings with Malfoy had taken up a lot of his time. It didn't bother him much, though.

After getting dressed, Harry found Hermione waiting for him in the common room. "Ron's getting ready. He'll meet us at breakfast." The bushy haired girl gave him a nod before the pair swept out of the portal hole and arrived at the Great Hall a few moments later.

Breakfast came and went easily enough. Ginny was there, but she didn't even spare a glance Harry's way. Not that the raven haired boy minded much; it wasn't a big deal to him at the moment. She was upset, and she had every right to be, but there wasn't anything anyone could do about it. She just had to accept it and move on. There _was_ someone who did look at him, though. Malfoy was watching him most of the meal, and Harry met his eyes a few times. Those grey eyes were a lighter color today, but not as bright as he had seen him when they were silver with happiness. They were close, though, and Harry offered him a mini-smile. After last night, it was nice to see Malfoy happy. No one deserved to be beat up over such a stupid reason.

The Slytherin in question stayed on his mind for a good amount of the day, even with the company and laughter of his friends. In the morning, the three friends bought mountains of candy from Honeydukes; Ron got a new pair of gloves for Quidditch, and Hermione found a few books that perked her interest. Before lunch, Harry saw some dark green robes, and he wondered how they would look on Malfoy. He imagined how the robes would drape over his smooth, pale chest and over his strong hips that swayed just so as he walked...

'_Dear Merlin. Why am I attracted to him of all people?'_ Harry asked himself as he pulled his eyes away from the store window where the robes where.

The Golden Trio at lunch at Three Broomsticks, then continued their time at Hogsmeade. The joke shop provided some entertainment until the three of them grew tired on their feet and headed back to the castle. After putting their things away in their rooms, the three friends met down in the Gryffindor common room to head down to the Great Hall together for dinner.

Harry sat down between Ron and Seamus. Instantly, his eyes moved to the Slytherin table, searching for a familiar blonde head. He was greeted by an empty seat between Parkinson and Crabb. Frowning, Harry's stomach flipped in his gut. Where was he? The green eyed boy sighed, turning back to his dinner. He didn't eat much, worry gnawing at his stomach. His mind tried to think of possiblities of why Malfoy wasn't there, and none of them were good. The worry in his stomach increased ten-fold as the minutes ticked on.

Attempting to swallow his fear and worry, Harry managed to eat a few spoonfuls of mashed potatoes before everyone decided to head up to the common room for a game of Exploding Snap. Harry spared a glance over at Malfoy's empty seat before following his house up to the common room.

With a determination set in his head, Harry sneaked away during a hand, needing to find Malfoy and figure out why he wasn't at dinner. With the invisibly cloak over his body and the map in hand, the Gryffindor didn't find the Slytherin boy on the map, and it was frustrating. He decided to check the only place that he could come up with that Malfoy might be hiding in: the Room of Requirement.

The relief that flooded through him at the sight of the door to the Room of Requirement. Letting out the breath he didn't know he was holding, Harry pushed his way into the room. It was relatively dark, but there was a soft glow of a low fire back a few yards in. A high backed black couch faced the fire.

"Malfoy?" the raven haired boy asked softly, stepping over to the couch with slow steps. No answer. Frowning, Harry leaned over the couch, and the sight he found on the other side nearly brought him to tears.

Mal- no. This broken boy wasn't Malfoy, his childhood rival and school bully. This was a very human, very emotional, very real, Draco. He was curled up on his side, his hands over his face, almost like he was trying to hide from the world around him. His hair was all over the place, and his chest shook with the intensity of his sobs. Harry sighed, shaking his head. He placed a comforting hand on Draco's shoulder, and finally the other took notice of his presence, drawing his hands away from his face.

"Potter? What are you doing here?" His voice was weak and scratchy, but there was something else about it that made Harry cringe inside and his heart nearly stopped.

Draco pulled himself into a sitting position, and Harry sat down next to him. His voice was soft and comforting. "You weren't at dinner, and I got worried. So I came looking for you."

Draco looked at him hard with his dark, cloudy and blood shot eyes; he snorted in amusement. "I'm a big boy, Potter. I don't need your worry."

The Gryffindor frowned. "Clearly. That's why you've been crying for the past few hours."

The blonde looked away from him, almost defeated in a way. "I'm fine." His voice shook, and Harry understood.

"Oh, Draco..." he sighed, shifting to wrap his arms around the other man's shoulders, drawing Draco into an embrace.

It broke a damn in the Slytherin's eyes; tears were streaming down his cheeks. He shifted, wrapping his arms around Harry's torso and burrowing his head into the raven's chest. This action surprised Harry, but in a good way. He laced his fingers into the back of Draco's hair, rubbing comforting circles into the boy's back with his other hand. Harry sighed, closing his eyes. It was going to be a long night.

Nothing was said as Draco sobbed silently into Harry's chest, only broken by a gasp or hiccup by the blonde.

It took several minutes before Draco's sobs simmered down to a few hiccups. Harry had no desire to let him go, in fear that Draco would just break down again, but he needed to know what had the Slytherin so upset. Gently pulling Draco out of his chest, the Gryffindor kept a strong arm around his shoulders. His other hand was taken captive by one of Draco's, but he didn't mind, giving the other a small squeeze of support. There was an unspoken understanding and comfort passed between them.

"Did the seventh years-"

"No."

"Then what-"

"I can't talk about it." His voice cracked, and Harry gently rubbed his back again.

"Can't, don't want to or won't?"

"I _can't._" Draco gave him a desperate look, and Harry understood. Someone's life was at stake if he did say anything, most like his own or someone close to him.

Nodding slowly, Harry ran his thumb over the back of Draco's hand in a comforting gesture. The blonde let out a sigh and leaned into Harry slightly. A few minutes of silence passed before Draco broke it.

"You called me Draco." It was only a statement of fact, but it made Harry flush a bit, none the less.

"Well, yeah. You're not the some petty bully anymore, so I thought addressing you by your first name would be better."

Draco didn't reply, but somehow Harry knew he was pleased with his answer. Was it the way his eyes seemed to brighten? Was it because his grip on Harry's hand tightened? Whatever it was, it made the raven haired boy happy. He could brighten Draco's mood, and that was quite the accomplishment.

A few moments passed, and Harry took the time to study Draco's appearance as the blonde simply soaked in the company and warmth from being so close to another person. "Your hair is a mess."

"Your hair is always a mess," came the Slytherin's reply. Harry scowled at him, and Draco gave him a small smile in return.

There was another brief moment of silence before Harry glanced down at his watch, letting out a sigh. 11:24. The numbers glared at him until he finally said something. "It's getting late. I should go. My friends will be worried."

Draco's actions and words were contradicting. His thin hand tightened it's grip around Harry's calloused hand, yet he agreed with the Gryffindor. "Yeah, I suppose so."

Harry waited for him to pull away, and when he didn't, he chuckled. "You're going to have to let go, Draco."

The Slytherin's cheeks flushed a pretty pink color as he finally let go of Harry's hand and stood up from the couch. The raven haired boy felt oddly cold as he released his hold on Draco. He shook off the feeling as he stood up as well. Draco's arms engulfed him once he was on his feet. Surprised, Harry took a moment to respond, hugging the taller boy back. It clicked in his brain that this was the blonde's way of thanking him for giving him comfort. He smiled against Draco's shoulder, giving him a little pat on the back.

The pair of boys pulled away after a long moment. No words were said, but a silent communication that passed between their eyes was all that was needed. Draco left first, as usual, and Harry followed him a few minutes later. Despite his desire to be honest, his meetings with Draco were not something he wanted to people to know about; Draco wouldn't like it, either. Harry didn't want to upset the Slytherin, as he already got enough of that from other sources.

After Harry sneaked back into his dorm, he checked the map, finding Draco safe and sound back in his own dorm. With the comfort of knowing that the other was safe, the Gryffindor drifted off into a peaceful sleep.


	6. Rumors Cause Chaos

It became almost a habit of Harry's to check the map before he went to bed to see that Draco was safe and sound in his own bed. The worry that ate away at his stomach reduced greatly when he saw 'Draco Malfoy'' in black, cursive letters over the Slytherin 6th year dorm room. Since Saturday night, Harry worried for the other boy a lot. The thought of the blonde just vanishing one day filled with him with terror. Draco wasn't a bad person, as he clearly knew now, and he didn't deserve to be so fearful and sad all of the time. Many of the other students didn't understand, though, so he couldn't outright voice it or anything like that. There were small things he could do to make himself feel better, though.

During meals, the two boys would share eye contact. Harry became rather good at reading Draco's eyes. The conversations between green and grey ranged from a friendly hello to a flirty nudge. Of course, the flirting was only a joke. Or so Harry assumed. It was Tuesday afternoon when it started becoming more then just a joke. Half way through lunch, Harry looked up to meet Draco's eyes. Something was different about the way the Slytherin boy was looking at him. Those grey eyes were light, but clouded over with an unfamiliar emotion. Harry found himself unable to look away, drawn in by the tiny but seductive smile on the other's face. Draco gave him a look that clearly said 'watch me' before picking up his fork full of mashed potatoes. The Gryffindor didn't know it was possible to eat mashed potatoes in a sexy way, but now he did. Draco licked them off the fork slowly, and Harry wondered what else he could do with his tongue as the pink muscle moved to clean the fork completely.

After watching the Slytherin for several moments, the raven haired boy was forced to look away in fear of giving himself of problem in his pants. His cheeks burned with a blush. Was Draco doing this on purpose? Was the flirting something that was more then just a harmless joke? He wasn't allowed much time to think about it before he was rushed off to potions, Hermione tugging on his robes to get him to move faster so they wouldn't be late.

Harry found himself distracted from his afternoon classes, and he thought that he would sneak away from Defense Against the Dark Arts, asking to go to the washroom. Snape was busy trying to outwit Hermione, and Harry nearly ran out of the classroom. The silence that met his ears in the corridor was refreshing. On his way to the washroom (because honestly, he did have to go), he bumped into a familiar red-head, Ginny. She frowned deeply at him as she took a step back. "Harry." Her voice was cold, unfeeling.

"Hello, Ginny." Despite his desire to spit venom back at the girl, he held off his temper for the time being.

"Having fun being a fag?"

Harry winced at her wording. "I'm not seeing anyone, nor am I simply fucking other guys just for fun. I'm not a whore, despite the rumors floating around."

Ginny raised an eyebrow. "I'm sure that you aren't, that's why you had to come out and tell everyone you suck cock."

Frowning, the Gryffindor shook his head. "I'm not sure what you're getting at, Ginny. Telling people that I'm a gay whore isn't going to make me love you in a romantic way, no matter what you think. I don't see you in any light of that matter."

She simply smirked. "It's not about that anymore, Harry." She didn't offer him any more words before disappearing back down the hall she came from.

Harry sighed, not liking the sound of that.

By the time Harry had used the restroom and finally returned to class, it seems the school suddenly had a different view on him. He knew that news traveled fast, but damn, in ten minutes? Stepping back into the classroom, the Gryffindor was greeted by a mixture of looks: shock, disgust, confusion, even pity from Ron and Hermione. Seamus, normally a good hearted fellow, gave him a disgusted sort of glare before Snape demanded the attention of the classroom. Harry sat down next to Ron, sinking into his chair behind all of the harsh gazes on him. Fuck, what had Ginny told them?

The class soon ended, and Harry wasn't more grateful. He looked over at his friends expectantly as they stepped out of the cold room. Ron looked at Hermione, silently begging her to break the news. She frowned, opening her mouth, pausing before she finally spoke. "Harry, everyone is saying that you... give oral sex to men for money. They say that it's how you bought your Firebolt and some of your other personal items."

Harry groaned, covering his face with his hands. Fuck. "Is that it?" he dared to ask as they walked to their common room. Everyone's eyes were trained on him. Snickers, whispers and pointing fingers all turned toward him at once, and Hermione shook her head.

"They're also saying that you've slept with some of the male teachers to get good marks."

Groaning more, the raven haired boy wanted nothing more to collapse into his bed and never leave. But even that would be trouble some, with the way that Seamus was looking at him before. Hermione gave him a pat on the back. "We'll do our best to spread the truth, but once the school hears it, it's hard for it to just go away."

Harry nodded, giving his friend a small smile. "Thanks, guys." The pair nodded as they put their things away and got ready for dinner.

Dinner was pretty much the worse one he had ever experienced at Hogwarts. Everyone watched him for most, if not, all of the meal. Whispers, gasps, giggles, snickers and all sorts of noises that he knew were about him filled the hall. Harry kept his eyes down, trying not to simply stand up and start screaming at Ginny for doing what she did. Of course it was her; who else would have done it? Draco was now his friend, and none of the Slytherins seemed interested in his sexuality.

Seamus was giving him looks that made him feel like horse shit, and he almost wished that Voldemort would suddenly pop in and shut them all up. Almost.

It was near the end of the meal that he felt a pair of eyes on him that were familiar. In fact, they were the only friendly set of eyes on him at the moment. The Gryffindor managed to look up from his half eaten food to lock eyes with Draco. His eyes were questioning and curious, as he knew the rumors were very far fetched. Harry said back one thing through his eyes: 'I need you.' It took the blonde a moment before he seemed to understand, giving him a slight nod of his head. It was wordlessly decided to meet up in the Room of Requirement that night so they could talk, face-to-face. Harry's spirits were heightened a bit at the thought of being able to spend time with Draco again.

After dinner finally ended, Harry's arm was taken by Hermione, who was in some sort of 'find and protect' mode, or something along those lines. He gladly let her drag him back to the common room, Ron following on his other side. They padded up to the sixth year dormitory together. Seamus was already there, demanding answers. Harry sighed, running his fingers through his hair. "Seamus, it's not true. Well, 98 percent of it, isn't. I am gay, but everything else is just a rumor." The Irishman gave him a hard look, clearly not convinced. He said nothing, but walked down to the common room, leaving the three friends alone. Hopefully, he would spread the news to their other two roommates, Neville and Dean. Neville would most likely be accepting once he knew the truth, and Dean wasn't close enough to really care either way.

Harry reached for his trunk, digging out his invisibility cloak. Ron gave him a look of surprise, and Hermione looked concerned. The Gryffindor sighed. "I'm sorry guys, but I need to get out of here for a while. I can't just sit and take the glares, the snickers and the pointing. Set people straight tonight if you can, but I'll start damage control tomorrow, okay?" Smiling a fake smile, he gave Ron a nod and kissed Hermione on the cheek before tossing the cloak over his head and bouncing out of the portal hole.

Draco had beat him there, per usual, and Harry entered the Room of Requirement to find the blonde at a piano; a couch and a fire were also set in the room for comfort. Draco was playing a quiet, calm piece of music. Harry matched over to the couch, frustrated and upset. Tossing his cloak onto the floor, he sat down and sighed, holding his face in his hands.

They sat in silence, only the music playing, for several minutes. It wasn't long, but it seemed like forever to Harry. The music helped calm his frustration, leaving him only with the hurt, the sadness and the pain. Draco seemed to sense this as he finished off the song before taking a seat next to the raven haired boy. Another moment or two passed before Harry felt a cool, comforting hand on his back, rubbing small circles on his shoulder blades.

With a small sigh, Harry finally looked up at Draco and found his eyes similar to at dinner, curious, but not disgusted or anything like he saw from the other students. Harry closed the distance between them sitting, leaning into the blonde's touch. He took hold of Draco's free hand, lacing their fingers and receiving a small squeeze from the other. It was quiet as the Slytherin's touch helped ease his stress, even as he fought back a few tears. With a bit of balls, he rested his cheek on Draco's shoulder, and he brought Harry into a full embrace, wrapping a firm arm around the raven's shoulders and drawing them flush against each other. There, he simply held the other man for long minutes, not needing to say a word.

Finally, Draco broke the silence, unable to help his curiosity, but it was a very indirect way. "The rumors are terrible. I can't believe people actually believe them. If they spent five minutes talking to you, they would know they're untrue. And dear Merlin, if Snape knew they were talking about him like that, he would have them expelled in a heartbeat."

The last comment made Harry smile, despite himself. "Yeah, Snape wouldn't enjoy knowing that students thought he was into men, even more so students, even more so ME, of all people."

Draco offered him a smile, resting his cheek in the Gryffindor's wild hair. His thumb ran over the back of Harry's hand in a comforting gesture, and he was more then happy for it. It was odd being comforted in such a physical way, because of his childhood and all, but Harry found it quite nice. Maybe it was because Draco was the one holding him? The thought was experimental at best, even if it had been on his mind for the past few days when the Slytherin came to _him_ for comfort.

Sinking into the embrace, Harry found his free arm wrapping around Draco's back, leaning into his chest and nearly climbing into his lap, but not quite. The pair of them simply sat and enjoyed each other's silent company. Nothing needed to be said, nothing at all, because even without words, they understood each other perfectly fine. All of those years being enemies had given the two of them time to figure each other out, and when that was put toward a positive thing instead, the outcome was amazing.

Harry noticed the fire dying down, and a part of him knew that he should tear himself away from Draco and head back to his dorm, as to not worry his friends, but he found himself unable. He faintly remembered Draco pulling him fully on top of him before the blanket of a comfortable sleep over came his mind, and there was simply black.

**A/N: So, things are starting to heat up. I promise that Ginny will come around in time, but right now, she's being a antagonist for the sake of the story. Also, drama with Ron and Hermione to come as well, obviously with Harry not coming back this night. Read, review and enjoy!  
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	7. Jealous Misunderstandings

"Potter."

Harry groaned childishly into his pillow, enjoying the warmth and the steady drum beat under the pillow case. It was comforting, lulling him back into sleep in a few seconds. He could deal with Ron, or whoever was calling his name, after he got more sleep...

"Potter, wake up. My leg is asleep."

The Gryffindor frowned, trying to return to sleep after being woken up again. His roommates were being noisy for it being so early in the morning. The sunlight wasn't even streaming into his window, so he knew it was still early in the morning, before anyone should be awake. He burrowed his face into his pillow, trying to fall back asleep.

Just as he came to realization that his pillow was _breathing_, he heard his name called again. "Harry, get up or I'll throw you on the floor." Harry opened his eyes, blinking sleepily for a moment before he noticed where he was and who he was with. The Room of Requirement greeted him with a dead fire, and it's stone walls. If he was in that room, then what – _'Fuck.'_ Slowly pulling his eyes away from the walls, he looked to the source of his name, his pillow. It wasn't a pillow at all. In fact, it was none other then Draco Malfoy. The blonde was looking at him with a scowl on his face, clearly not a morning person. "Did you hear me? Get off. My legs are asleep from your fat ass cutting off the blood flow."

Harry flushed, scrambling to climb off the Slytherin, who stood up once he was free. "Sorry." He couldn't think of anything else to say, so he turned around awkwardly, stretching out his stiff limbs. Draco cursed as the pins and needles started in his legs before they were back to normal. The silence between them was far from their normal, understanding silence. It was awkward and suffocating.

Clearing his throat, the raven haired boy turned to face Draco finally since his blush had faded. His breath was stolen at the sight of the Slytherin man all sleepy. His hair was messy, but in an adorable way. His eyes were a light silver color, sleepy but very clear and happy, despite the awkward morning. Draco smirked at him. "Are you done staring, Potter?"

The blush returned to his cheeks, and Harry looked away. "I, umm, I just never see you as happy as you look when you wake up."

Draco's smirk turned into a shallow frown. "Well, I'm not worried or stressed right when I wake up."

The Gryffindor didn't know what to say, so he changed the subject instead. "You called me Harry." He met Draco's eyes, watching the emotions. They were guarded, rather then open like he usually saw, and he was instantly curious.

"You weren't answering to 'Potter', so I though using your first name would wake you up."

Harry offered him a small smile. "We aren't enemies anymore, Draco. You can call me by my first name, at least when we meet in private."

Draco didn't reply, but Harry could see that he was at least thinking about it. It was enough, for now, at least.

The raven looked down at his watch, finding it 6:52 am, meaning they had some time to return to their dorms before the others woke up. He didn't want to leave, both because he had to answer to his friends, and because he wanted to spend more time with the blonde. However, Draco noticed the time as well and grabbed his cloak off the floor. "We should get going. Weasley and Granger are going to worry about you." Harry noticed he didn't say anything about his own friends worrying about him, but decided not to point it out. He knew that Draco was a bit touchy on the subject.

"Yeah," he agreed, picking up his invisibility cloak off the floor. Draco watched him cover his body with it.

"Where did you get that thing? I've seen it before, but I never asked."

"It was my dad's. Dumbledore gave it to me my first year at Hogwarts. He knew I would make good use of it." It was odd the way Draco stiffened up after that, but he gave a nod in response none the less.

They walked toward the door together, and Harry caught Draco's hand before he could leave. The blonde raised an eyebrow in question; Harry smiled at him. "Thank you." He understood what it meant, giving a nod before pulling the smaller boy into a hug. The Gryffindor returned the hug, enjoying the other man's body pressed up against his own. The hug was brief, and Draco was gone after that. Harry soon followed, each step bringing him closer to the scolding that Hermione was sure to give him.

Harry managed to sneak up to his dorm room, grab his school clothing, shower and start reading some a section of his book for Charms before anyone else started to wake up. Neville was the first awake, but he was usually the first to bed and the first to wake up, so Harry wasn't surprised when he only gave him a friendly wave before going down to the bathrooms himself to get ready for the day. Apparently, the other didn't notice him missing last night.

Dean awoke next, offering the raven haired boy a sorry sort of smile as he started to change. "I'm sorry about the rumors going around school, Harry. Ron told me that they were completely made up. Well, accept for the part about your sexuality. But hey, what's it matter, right?"

Harry smiled over at his roommate. "Thanks, Dean," he replied in a whisper before the dark skinned wizard left the dorm.

Harry left before the other two woke up, heading down to the common room. He was greeted with a scowling Hermione, and she didn't look nearly as cute as when Draco made the same expression. She pointed into his chest angrily as she spoke. "Harry James Potter, where did you go last night? Ron and I were up late worried about you!"

The Gryffindor quickly summed up an excuse. "I was... with someone. I can't tell you who, though."

Hermione's cheeks lit up slightly. "Oh. You're seeing someone?"

"Yes." Even if it wasn't how she meant it, he was _seeing_ Draco in private.

"And he hasn't come out yet, has he?"

"No, so we're keeping it a secret."

"What house is he in?"

"Hermione! I can't tell you that! He'll be upset I had to tell you in the first place."

She gave him a look, frowning. "Fine. I'll tell Ron. Go off to breakfast. We'll meet you there once Ronald gets up." Harry smiled, giving her a hug against his side before bouncing out the portal hole. The excuse was perfect; he could continue to see Draco without his friends worrying or questioning him. And it would keep Ron quiet, because Harry knew he was a bit uncomfortable with the thought of Harry kissing another man.

Harry sat down next to Neville at the Gryffindor table. Since yesterday, the buzz about his sexual experiences seemed to die down a lot. A few younger years were just now getting the news, and he saw a few pointing fingers in his direction, but for the most part, no one seemed to care, at least as much as yesterday. Ron and Hermione soon joined him at breakfast, and Harry looked over at Draco. The grey eyes were almost smiling at him, bright and happy. The emotion was infectious, and Harry smiled slightly over at the Slytherin before returning to his meal.

This exchange was not missed by Hermione, who giggled in his ear. "Why are you looking over at the Slytherin table?"

The Gryffindor frowned. "Because Malfoy hasn't tried to hex me in a couple weeks, and I'm waiting for it. He's got to be planning something to make my life miserable."

Hermione rolled her eyes, clearly not believing him. "Malfoy isn't the only Slytherin over there."

Harry didn't reply, glaring at his breakfast. Nosy girls.

By the time lunch rolled around, Harry was the center of the school's attention again. Apparently, Seamus heard Hermione telling Ron about Harry's boyfriend, and decided to tell the whole school. Everyone was asking each other who was the lucky man to catch the Gryffindor's eye. More then a handful of girls gave him glares or looks of pity. Most likely, they hoped that the rumors of Harry Potter being gay weren't true. The thought scared Harry a bit, honestly.

The raven sat down at lunch, keeping his head low. Ron was at his side, offering some words of comfort. "Don't feel bad, mate. It's hard to keep anything a secret around here. I'm sure he won't be mad at you. It's not like you gave him away, or anything. Just be careful if he wants him to stay a secret."

Harry faked a smile, glad his best friend didn't seem afraid of the topic, but he knew that if anyone found out it was Draco that he was having secret meetings with, it would be hell for both of them. The thought of being the cause of Draco possibly getting beat up again made his chest hurt.

Speaking of the Slytherin, Harry looked up to find him, but was greeted by a pair of sharp, angry grey eyes. Draco mouthed and said with his eyes 'We need to talk'. Harry winced, not liking the sound of that. But he nodded anyway.

Harry didn't expect Draco to mean _right now_ but apparently, he did. He gestured with his eyes to the hallway, and Harry swallowed. He stood up, told his friends that he was going to the washroom and hurried out. He stepped out into the hallway, only to have a cool hand grab his wrist and yank him into an abandoned hallway with only a broom closet. Draco pressed him tightly up against the wall, hovering over him. His eyes were wild with anger and some sort of other emotion that Harry didn't recognize.

"Who is he?" The harsh whisper made his heart beat faster.

"No one."

"Don't lie to me." The grip on Harry's shoulders tightened, and the Gryffindor frowned.

"No, I mean literally, no one. He's not real. I'm not seeing anyone."

"Then why-"

"I had to tell my friend's something so they wouldn't question me on why I was out all night. It was my first thought, okay? I said that he wasn't ready to come out, so I couldn't tell them who it was."

Draco relaxed, drawing in a deep breath. Harry knew what other emotion he saw a moment ago; jealousy. Draco was jealous of his fake boyfriend. The thought had his stomach in knots. Did the Slytherin...?

His thought was cut off by Draco releasing his shoulders and backing off. "Oh." Confusion and realization covered his face. He opened his mouth to say something, closed it, and then he was gone.

Harry blinked several times as the past few moments settled into his brain. Draco was jealous of his non-existent boyfriend. He was JEALOUS. Fuck. This was weird. Pulling himself out of his daze, the Gryffindor's cheeks lit up in a bright blush when he came to the conclusion that the blonde was attracted to him. Draco wanted him. Harry wasn't sure how he felt about that, really. It was such an... odd thought.

Shaking himself from his thoughts, he stepped back into the Great Hall, sitting down next to Ron. The red-head looked over at him and grinned. "Have a nice break?" he joked, trying to make light of Harry's mildly messed up appearance. Harry laughed, but inside, he was a mess of confusion. Draco wanted him, and a part of Harry liked that, but it would never work out, would it? Frowning, the green eyed boy decided to try to dispel the thought from his head until he had to see Draco at dinner. He had classes still, and Snape was looking extra mean today.

**A/N: We're almost to the good stuff! I'm sorry I'm taking so long to actually bring them together, but I didn't want to rush things and make it seem random. I wanted them to have a reason to want to be together and such, besides just sexual attraction xD Read, review and enjoy ;3  
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	8. Nightmares and Gingers

It was official: Draco was ignoring him.

Harry came to his conclusion at dinner the next day. During breakfast, Draco hadn't even thrown a glance his way. It was his first clue that the Slytherin was upset with him for some reason, but he gave him the benefit of the doubt and chalked it up to him being moody. Draco was a moody, easily upset teenager, so it made sense. At lunch, the blonde wasn't even there. It both worried and angered Harry. Where was the prat? Was he skipping meals just to avoid the Gryffindor? Did the seventh years beat him up again? Was in the hospital wing? The worry overcame any anger he experienced that afternoon, and he told Ron he was going to retrieve a forgotten book. In reality, he went up to his dorm and checked the Marauder's map. He found Draco safely in his common room, and his little footsteps were moving. The relief flooded him before the anger spiked in his system. The bastard was ignoring him, avoiding him at all costs. That much was obvious. But the real question was: why?

Harry took long hours over the next few days both in class and during his downtime to try to figure out why the Slytherin would be unwilling to see, speak or even look at him. No conclusion could be draw in his brain, and it was more then frustrating.

This frustration was only amplified by his lack of sleep. The nightmares were returning yet again, haunting his sleep and keeping him from getting any long period of rest. However, they weren't like the ones he experienced the years before. Draco was the center of most of these dreams. Voldemort and some random, faceless Death Eaters were there too, per usual. At first, Draco was the one personally torturing Harry with spells of pain and blood, echoing his fears and thoughts of the blonde being a Death Eater himself. But, as the nights went on that week, Draco himself became the one receiving the cures from Voldemort and the others. He would wither in pain, and Harry would awake in a state of panic, scrambling to grab the map. Thankfully, Draco was always safe and sound in his room, and the panic and worry in his throat called greatly at the sight. It was only a dream, he would tell himself.

The lack of sleep, his frustration with Draco and the stress of school work made the Gryffindor into a very snappy, cranky person. Ron avoided talking to him in fear of getting snapped, and Hermione was in the same boat, even if she was worried for the raven haired boy. He was thankful for the worry, but he knew that his tempter was nasty without enough sleep. He didn't want to snap at his innocent friends, even more so when he woke up Ron more then a few nights with his nightmares.

There was one person who didn't seem to care about the bite of his temper, though, and that person was Ginny. It was dinner time, and she was sitting close enough at the table for Harry to hear her. Perhaps she was talking extra loud so he could hear what she had to say.

"Well, that's nothing on me. I turned my boyfriend into a faggot."

Harry stood up, ready to pounce (so to speak) on Ginny and give her a piece of his pissed off mind. But, he didn't have to. Someone was already taking care of it for him. Someone he didn't expect to defend him like that: Ron.

The ginger boy growled in his throat, leaping off the bench to stand over Ginny from behind. "What on has gotten into you, Ginny? Why are you suddenly such a cunt to Harry? So he's gay, big deal. Just because you can't always get your way, you have to insult him, spread rumors about him and cause him to become more stressed then he needs to be! We're almost in a war here, Ginny, and all you can think about is yourself! When Mom and Dad hear about the things you've said and done to Harry, you will be in a load of trouble. I hope you enjoy your friendless summer, bitch." His words and tone were harsh, leaving half of the Gryffindors shocked. Ron didn't get angry _that_ often, so it was surprising.

Ron sat down next to Harry, and Harry, after blinking away his shock, smiled at his friend. "Thank you. Really, thanks, Ron. You didn't have to do that."

He smiled back at his raven haired friend. "Yeah, I did. She wouldn't stop other wise."

Harry gave him another thankful smile before he was able to relax, if only for a little while.

**A/N: So... don't kill me that this is small and boring. I wanted to set up the climax and give some background of what is going to happen, so ya know, it makes sense. The next chapter will be the big climax of it all, and the following will be the aftermath of what happens. **


	9. Reasoning, Curses and Foreign Feelings

**A/N: So, this is the big moment everyone's been waiting for! Well, sorta. It's what I would consider the climax of the story, as it's the turning point of everything. I'll let you read and stuff, now. The next chapter will be full of talking and cute shit, be warned. Read, review and enjoy!**

It had been exactly a week since Draco had last looked at him, let alone talk to him. Harry was pissed. Beyond pissed, even. He was fucking livid. He had let Draco close, let him hold him when he was upset. It wasn't an everyday thing that he let his friends hold him like that, comfort him in such an intimate way. Ron wasn't a touchy person by nature, but Hermione was, and he didn't allow her close to him like that. It hurt that the blonde was now pushing him away. If Draco had given him some sort of reason, then it wouldn't hurt as much. But, the fact of the matter was, he didn't. He just cut the ties and expected things to go back to the way they were. Harry didn't want that. He wanted Draco as a friend, even if it was hidden and private from the outside world. He wanted the Slytherin to hold him again, comfort him when he was upset. He wanted what they had before this week of silence.

The realization that he had gotten attached to Draco nearly brought Harry to tears. Then, the anger hit him again. It was during lunch on Sunday. He got so pissed, so upset, so frustrated that Draco would push him away like he did. Of course, it was ten times worse because of his lack of sleep. He watched the blonde boy stand up from his table and rush out of the Great Hall; Harry followed after him, not giving any word to his confused friends. He needed to know simply _why_, and he was going to get answers one way or another.

Draco made his way to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, nearly falling a few times on the way there. Harry stayed back a good ways away, watching him quietly. Even with his anger, he knew that this needed to be a private thing. Once the Slytherin had slipped into the bathroom, Harry took a deep breath and followed. He stood in the doorway, examining the other male. He looked thin, like he hadn't been eating much. In the reflection of the mirror, he could see the dark circles under the pale man's eyes. They were similar to his own for lack of sleep. His grey eyes were lifeless, pained, sad and a mix of other emotions that weren't in the least bit happy.

Harry stepped into the bathroom more, alerting Draco of his presence. "What the hell is wrong with you? Why have you been ignoring me, avoiding me like the plague?"

The blonde gave a tired sigh, turning to face the Gryffindor. "Because I can't see you anymore. I'm supposed to hate you, Potter."

Harry frowned deeply, shaking his head. "Draco, we've moved passed that, though. Or so I thought. We're friends. Or were, at least."

Draco frowned back, his voice starting to pick up intensity. "You don't understand. I can't be friends with you. He... won't let me."

"He? Your boyfriend?"

Draco snorted in amusement, though it didn't reach his eyes. "I wish it was that simple, that harmless." His tone was turning bitter and angry.

"Then who the fuck is it, Draco? Your father?" The raven's eyes were hard, angry, determined. He wasn't going to give up until he had his answers, damn it, and he wasn't getting them like he wanted.

"Even my father is better then him." His voice was near venomous.

"Who is he?" Harry demanded, his gaze harsh and unwavering.

Something broke inside Draco at the question. His eyes grew wild and his hands shook with emotion. Not just his hands, but his entire body. His grey eyes darkened, making him look years older with the dark circles under his eyes. He pushed up his sleeve and turned his arm over, showing Harry the one thing he feared all along: the dark mark. Harry's heart thumped painfully against his chest. "I'm a fucking Death Eater, Harry! You know who I'm talking about!" Harry winced at the sight of the mark, his scare burning slightly. Voldemort's magic was in that tattoo. Draco took notice of Harry's discomfort and put his sleeve back down, but didn't back off his rant. He wasn't going to back down at all, much to the raven's dismay. "I can't be friends with you, talk to you unless I'm insulting you. He'll have my head if he knows I'm being friendly with someone he calls an enemy." Tears now leaked from his eyes, breaking Harry's heart. It wasn't Draco that was doing this; Voldemort wouldn't allow him to, and most likely take the teen's life if he didn't obey him. Or worse, his parents.

"Draco..." he said softly, reaching to touch the other man on the shoulder in a comforting gesture. The blonde winced, moving away from the touch swiftly. The rejection stung deeper then any physical wound could.

"Don't. Just don't!" His voice was now filled with his emotions, as were his eyes and his face. Backing away from Harry, the blonde pulled out his wand. "If you don't stay away from me, I'll... I'll make you!"

The raven haired boy frowned deeply, growing upset and impatient with the Slytherin. "Don't be rash. I'm not going to hurt you. This can stay between us. I won't tell a soul; you know that." He moved forward, and Draco moved back toward the wall of the bathroom.

"It doesn't matter! I can't do this, Harry! Please don't do this to me..." His voice grew desperate. "I don't want to hurt you, but... but if I have to, I will! I'll curse you, hex you, something, anything to keep you away and safe! Being around me isn't safe. I'll only end up hurting you. Please."

Harry frowned more, moving forward a few steps. Draco was against the wall now, trapped. "You won't. You haven't hurt me yet, and you won't later. Just drop your wand, and we could work something out."

Draco glared at him, holding out his wand. He found his fight again, his old instincts kicking back in. "Stay way. Go back to your friends, who care about you."

The Gryffindor returned the glare. "Don't turn this into a pity party, Draco. It doesn't suit you." The anger from before was returning, ten-fold. He wanted nothing more to punch the stupid prat right in his face to shut him up. Then kiss him. He wasn't given enough time to process the last thought before Draco's voice broke his train of thoughts.

"Then leave."

"No."

"Stubborn prick!"

"Takes one to know one, bastard!"

This broke the straw on the hat. His eyes darkened even more, nearly black with rage and pain all rolled into one. Draco raised his wand, a curse rising in his throat. "Cru-"

Harry returned with a loud curse of his own before Draco could continue, his own anger getting the better of him. "Sectumsempra!" It was the first spell that came into his mind, as it was the last one he read in his potions book the other day, but it was very dreadful mistake. Blood splattered everywhere. Draco's blood. It was pouring from his wounds, and the blonde was pushed on the floor on his back. His chest was covered in cuts, the blood soaking through his white shirt. Myrtle screamed loudly. Harry dropped to his knees, unable to comprehend what he did. He hurt the one person he wanted to protect so badly. He nearly killed Draco with a single curse. The power to do that was frightening, but the fear of losing the trust, the friendship, the _love_ that him and Draco shared was the scariest thing of all. "Draco, I'm-"

Snape came in that very moment, alerted by the screams of the female ghost. He gasped at Draco's condition, rushing over to the bleeding boy and quickly casting healing charms on him, ones that the raven didn't hear. His heart was too busy pound in his chest. He felt faint as he was forced to simply watch Snape heal the blonde. A part of him was kind of glad that Draco wasn't conscious, but it made him feel more like shit in the end. He nearly killed him. Snape glared at him as he lifted Draco's lifeless body into his arms. "Potter, come with me. I believe you have explaining to do once I get Mr. Malfoy to the hospital wing."

Harry gave a stiff nod, not keeping his eyes off Draco as he followed Snape briskly to the hospital wing. The boy didn't even give a twitch, and Harry's stomach tightened painfully. Thankfully, Snape knew what kind of curse it was, so he was able to provide the medi-witch with the correct treatment for Draco's injuries, even if the boy was still unconscious.

Once Draco was in proper hands, Snape took Harry into his office, forcing him to sit and explain everything to the older man. The boy in question was in a daze, lost, confused, worried, hurt. Harry fought back his tears, his desire to go back to Draco's side and simply wait to beg for his forgiveness and any other urges he was having. It was near unbearable, but he had to talk to Snape about what happened before he could attempt to do such things.

"We were arguing, and he-" Harry paused, not wanting to get Draco in trouble for almost casing one of the unforgivables on him. So, he lied. "He case a simple disarming charm on me, but it missed. I was so angry, so I cast Sectumsempra on him. I read about it in the back of my potions book. I didn't understand how dangerous it was. I didn't mean to hurt him like that." His voice softened greatly at the last statement, and he looked into his lap. The guilt he was feeling right now and the chance that Draco would hate him was enough self punishment for anyone. School rules, though, didn't work that way.

Snape watched him with his black eyes. "You are not under my house, so the punishment is not up to me. However, I will not insist on having you expelled. Mr. Malfoy will recover from this just fine. I will talk to McGonagall about your punishment, and explain that you didn't know the spell you cast well enough to predict its outcome. The fact that you cast it on another student, however, will be punished."

Harry was confused of the kind actions of Snape, but nodded in response. He didn't have time to wonder why his least favorite teacher was letting him off easy, for once, as his mind was filled with Draco. And the blood. Oh god. The fear, the worry and everything else came crashing back. "Can... Can I go see Draco while you speak with her?"

The teacher raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "I suppose. I don't think he will be awake for a while, though, give his blood loss. Only if Madam Pomfrey agrees, of course."

Harry nodded again. "Thank you." With a forced smile of gratitude, the Gryffindor left Snape's office and practically ran to the hospital wing. The worry had the blood pumping through his veins rather quickly.

Madam Pomfrey was hovering over Draco, attempting to apply Dittany to his wounds in hoping that it wouldn't scar. She looked up briefly at Harry. "What are you doing here, Mr. Potter? Are you not the cause of this mess?"

He winced, nodding. "Yes, but I did not intend to cause such great wounds. We were arguing, and I threw the curse at him, not knowing it's full effects. I want to apologize when he is awake."

She looked at him for a long moment before finishing her work and tugging the sheet over Draco's chest. "Yes, well, I have given him painkillers, so he will not be awake for some time. If you must, you can sit with him, but quietly." The medi-witch left after that, attending to a few other students who weren't feeling well.

The Gryffindor pulled up a chair next to Draco's bed, gently taking one of his pale hands in his own. It was cold and unmoving. "I'm sorry," he whispered, closing his eyes with his head bowed. Tears escaped his eyes as the emotions and backlash of what happened washed over him. They sank into his lap, and he simply waited, holding back any sobs in his throat. The regret and pain that overcame him was enough to make him want to die. But he needed to wait until Draco woke up, just to see those bright grey eyes open once more. It would be enough.


	10. Apologies and Affection

The fight happened during lunch, and it wasn't until dinner time that Sunday that his friends found him, sitting, holding onto Draco's thin hand for dear life. Hermione was nearly in tears with worry, and she threw her arms around the raven. He hugged her back wit his free arm, not willing to let go of the blonde's hand until he saw those grey eyes open once more. He was, of course, hoping for forgiveness. The thought that Draco would hate him after this was almost unbearable, but if that's the way Draco wanted it, Harry would comply.

Harry told his friends everything that night, including the fact that he has been meeting with Draco at night. Hermione raised an eyebrow in curiosity, accusing him of dating Draco. He frowned in return, shaking his head and telling a few white lies. "We're just friends, Hermione. I don't even know Draco's sexuality, but I'm assuming it's straight as he was dating Pansy a few weeks ago." The bushy haired girl frowned, but didn't push the issue. She forced him to eat dinner, and he complied to that. Once dinner was over, he explained to both of them that he wasn't going to be in class until Draco woke up. Hermione gave him a look over, a knowing sort of smirk on her face and promised him that she would bring him his homework at meals. Harry thanked her before rushing back to the hospital wing, back to Draco's side.

Ron nearly carried him to dinner the next night, because he told them he hadn't eaten since dinner Sunday night. Harry simply sat with Draco, keeping one hand in the blonde's cool one as he worked on homework. He took breaks to keep his hand from cramping from writing, and to use the bathroom. Other then that, nothing. No sleeping, no eating. The combination of no sleep, no food and the fact that he hadn't slept well in a week made him nearly pass out before dinner. With something to eat, he did feel better, but he hurried back to Draco's side right after. He wanted nothing more to apologize over and over once the Slytherin woke up, and that's exactly what he planned to do.

Hermione visited him again before bed, offering him a change of clothing and staying with Draco while he took the world's fastest shower and changed into something clean. His old clothing still had blood on them from the fight. The thought made him shiver as he pulled on the fresh clothing. He thanked his friend as she pressed a bottle of water and two apple Danishes into his hand. With a smile, she was gone.

Taking a seat beside Draco, he took one of those pale, smooth hands in his own, eating the snack one handed. His stomach thanked him for the food, and he felt a bit more awake with water and food in his system. His heart still beat painfully loud in his chest, reminding him of the fight. Horrible thoughts came crashing down upon him, and he attempted to clear his head before he started crying or something. Once Draco woke up, he could let himself break down. Not now, though. He needed to be the strong one. If not for himself, for Draco.

Thirty-eight hours. Draco has been out for thirty-eight hours. Harry has been sitting at his bedside for thirty-eight hours. Finally, his patience was rewarded as the Slytherin shifted slightly, raising his free hand to his face. "Dear Merlin, I feel like I got hit by a truck," he muttered to himself before he opened his eyes and took in his surroundings.

Harry caught sight of those bright, almost silver eyes upon his green ones, and his heart stopped before going again at full blast. "Draco..." he whispered, his breath caught in his throat. The blonde looked over at him. He wasn't mad. He seemed surprised, confused but... happy? Harry didn't think too much about it before the apology poured out of his throat. The adrenaline pumped through his body at ultra-speed, and his speech followed in suit. "Oh, Draco, I'm so sorry. I-I didn't mean to- well, I mean, I did, but I didn't know what the spell would do when I cast it – and I never meant to hurt you like I did! I'm sorry, please don't hate me..." The Gryffindor winced, waiting for the swears, the anger – something.

But he never got it. Instead, he got a soft, throaty voice asking him, "How long have you been here?"

Looking down at his watch, the raven did some simply math. "Thirty-eight hours and four minutes."

"How long have I been unconscious?"

"Thirty-eight hours and five minutes."

"You've sat with me the entire time?"

Harry gave a slow nod, watching Draco's eyes. The blonde moved his hand, and for a moment Harry feared he was pulling away. But no, he just shifted it in the raven's grip. His thumb stroked over the side of Harry's hand in a soothing rhythm.

"You don't... hate me? You aren't angry at me?" the Gryffindor whispered in a desperate sort of way, fighting tears. Tears of what, he didn't know. All of these emotions just seemed to slam him at once.

Draco shook his head. "We were both angry. And I... I nearly cast an-"

"I know that, and you know that, but Snape and McGonagall don't. I said it was just a disarming charm."

"Snape got involved?"

"He saved your life after I... Well, he came into the bathroom a moment later, and healed you so you would stop bleeding and such. Then, he brought you here. Surprisingly, he didn't kill me on the spot."

Draco's eyes widened a bit as the thought came to him. "You aren't... expelled, are you?"

"No." Relief flooded those silvery eyes, and Harry smiled a little at that. "Snape defended me when we spoke to McGonagall. She wanted to, though. But, she decided that detention for the rest of the year would be enough. Snape said he has lots of things I can do for him."

The Slytherin smiled. "I'm sure it won't be horrible. Just boring as fuck."

Harry gave a nod in agreement. The pair lapsed into a silence for a few minutes, simply sitting with their hands locked. It was comfortable, though. A thought came to Harry. "Are you in any pain? I can get Madam Pomfrey if you are."

"No, I'm alright. It's just sore and sorta bruised feeling. It'll just take rest and time to feel better." While this did make Harry feel a bit better, he still felt like shit. It must have shown in his eyes, because Draco's hand was suddenly on his chin, forcing his head around to make eye contact with the Gryffindor. "I'm fine, Harry. Don't beat yourself up about it. I'm not mad at you, so don't be mad at yourself."

He watched the other man's eyes, finding comfort in the familiar grey orbs. Draco's thumb gently rubbing across his jaw line helped, too. The raven sighed, pressing his hand upon Draco's on his cheek and closing his eyes briefly. "You called me Harry."

Draco didn't try to deny it. "Yes."

"You also used my first name during the fight."

"Did I?"

"I like when you use my first name."

Draco smiled at him a bit. "Well, you're not my childhood enemy anymore, even if I'm still supposed to hate you and make your life miserable."

"So you're giving up ignoring me?"

"I obviously can't just get rid of you, you leech. Staring at me for a day and a half straight is creepy."

Harry chuckled, running his thumb over the back of Draco's hand. "I wasn't watching you the entire time. Hermione brought me homework that I missed. I finished some of it. I couldn't stay on it for long, though. You would move slightly, and I would jump because I thought you were awake."

The Slytherin seemed to enjoy that mental picture. The was another silence that Draco broke. "I'm glad you were here when I woke up."

"I'm glad you woke up."

They shared a tender smile and a pass of emotions through their eyes.

Silence greeted them before something came to Harry's mind. "I... had to tell my friends that we've been meeting for the past few weeks. Hermione accused us of dating, but I quickly set her straight on the matter."

Draco got a strange twinkle in his eye. "Why would you do that?" His tone was slightly teasing, but not enough to make Harry think he was actually joking.

He decided to play stupid. "I had to tell them something, Draco. I mean, it's not like I randomly decided that I wanted to sit with you for nearly two days, chewing my nails off in worry."

The blonde gave him a look. "You know what I meant. Why did you have to tell her that we're not dating?"

"Because we're not. It's obvious."

"What if I want to change that?"

Harry's heart beat faster. Licking his lips, he asked, "What do you mean?"

Draco watched his actions with a hungry gaze, shifting his pale hand to behind Harry's head. His fingers burrowed into the soft, messy locks. The raven's eyes widened as his brain processed the moment. Before he could think about it, Draco has brought his head down to his, and their lips met.

Despite the wild look in the Slytherin's eyes before hand, the kiss wasn't sexual or extremely full of tongue. It was firm, but gentle and tender. Harry lost himself in the sensations, failing to notice that he was now leaning over Draco in the bed, one arm supporting him, the other cupped around the blonde's cheek.

The kiss wasn't long nor short, but it lasted long enough to make an impression. Harry drew back with flushed cheeks, and Draco smiled at him, playing with the hairs on the back of his neck. "I hope I've made my message clear," he whispered into the Gryffindor's ear, the smile still clear on his lips. "I've never had just friendship on my mind, Harry."

Shivering, the raven took a moment to think before answering, a smirk playing on his lips. "Well, I hate to lie to Hermione, but you are _very _persuasive." Draco smiled at him brightly before leaning up slightly to kiss him again. The Gryffindor kissed him back with vigor, finding the taste addicting. Harry thought back to the few kisses he exchanged with Ginny, comparing and contrasting. Ginny's hands were small, warm and slender. Her touch was light, like she was afraid. The kiss was unsure, and mildly unwilling on Harry's part. Ginny smelled like flowers and ginger. Draco smelled like plain soap and had a natural musky scent that was purely male. It turned Harry on more then he was willing to admit. The kiss was firm and passionate, very much willing on both ends. They were doing this because they wanted to, not because they felt like they had to. It was all so different, and Harry was enjoying every difference he found from Ginny.

The kisses grew longer, and Harry ended up climbing onto the small bed beside Draco, half on top of him to keep their kisses comfortable for both of them. He was careful not to put pressure on the Slytherin's chest, knowing that it would hurt enough to bother the other.

A short ten minutes passed before they were both too out of breath to continue; Harry checked the time, and his eyes started to get heavy just at the sight of 3:35am. "We should get some sleep," he muttered in Draco's ear, was currently getting comfortable in Harry's arms.

"You should, at least. I'm not sleepy, but please, you look like you haven't slept well in weeks."

"Just a week. I started having nightmares again."

Draco smiled at him, giving him a kiss on the forehead. "Well, sleep. I'll protect you from the monsters of your dreams." The Gryffindor believed him, nuzzling into the blonde's shoulder as his pure tiredness over took him and put him in a deep slumber. It didn't matter that he was laying with _Draco Malfoy_ in a hospital bed. It didn't matter that his friends were going to look for him and find him curled up with his "enemy" all cozy. It didn't matter that he hadn't finished his Charms essay that was due Tuesday morning. All that mattered is that Draco was okay, he wasn't mad at Harry and that the world (for the moment) was still at peace. Harry couldn't ask for much more then that.

**A/N: So... this isn't the end of this story, though it seems like it might be, sorta. I hope you have enjoyed your fluffy stuff, because drama is about to go down again. This story is coming to a close, only two-three more chapters to go before it's finished. I haven't planned out anything right this second, but here are the main things coming up in the end: Ron, Ginny and Hermione accepting Harry and Draco's relationship; them coming out publicly; drama that will show Harry's friends how much he really loves Draco, and most likely an ending scene with Draco playing the piano, to tie everything together nicely. Yeah, expect that shit, but not in that order. Please review and enjoy :3 Let me know how this scene came along. I felt it was a bit rushed, but I NEEDED to get them together before my brain exploded. That's all xD  
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	11. Lies, Truth and Bliss

"Harry."

The Gryffindor gave a small groan in response. Sleep was such a wonderful thing; why did he have to wake up?

"Harry, I know you haven't slept long, but you really need to wake up."

Pouting childishly, he burrowed his face into the warm body next to him, willing Draco's voice to just go away for a while. As much as he enjoyed hearing the blonde say his name, he would much rather the Slytherin just shut up and let him sleep.

"Madam Pomfrey is coming."

At this, Harry opened his eyes in panic, scrambling out of the bed. Rubbing his eyes, he sat down in his chair before slipping his glasses over his nose. The world became clear once again, including Draco, who was smiling at him. Smiling back in a sleepy, lazy sort of fashion, Harry took one of Draco's hands in his own, lacing their fingers. "Have you been holding my hand the entire time I was out?"

Harry hesitated, but gave a nod in response. "Yeah. I was sitting alone in a hospital with an unconscious person. It seems liked the thing to do."

Draco smirked at him in a knowing sort of way, tightening his grip around Harry's hand before Madam Pomfrey approached him from tending to another student, some second year Ravenclaw who fractured her wrist. "Good morning, Mr. Malfoy. I'm glad to see that you're finally awake. How do you feel?"

"Sore and bruised. But, I don't think it will require any medical attention. Just time," Draco replied as the women did a few spells on him to check his condition.

She agreed. "Yes, there is nothing else that I can give your that will take away the pain that won't knock you out cold. I'm afraid you'll have to sit here today and wait it out until you feel better. I will come check on you around dinner time, and you will most likely be able to leave then."

He gave the women a small smile, though Harry knew he wasn't happy about the news. Draco would much rather get out right now and be able to shower and change rather then sit in his own filth. He was polite as ever, though, which sort of surprised the raven. Perhaps nearly being killed, then making-out with the man who tried to kill him made him happy. The thought was humorous at best, but it made Harry smile none the less.

Draco's silky voice drew him from his thoughts as Madam Pomfrey left. "You look really sexy with bed head."

The Gryffindor flushed slightly, running his free hand through his unmanageable hair. "You look sexy all of the time," he bit back, watching as it was Draco's turn to blush a bit. Harry smiled, taking a glance around before he leaned forward with the idea of kissing the blonde, but a thought stopped him. "Draco, what do you want t-"

He was cut off by a bouncing Gryffindor girl, who happened to be one of his best friends. "Harry, I brought you some breakfast, and- Oh, hello, Malfoy. You're awake?" Ron trailed behind the girl with another book under his arm and a bottle full of pumpkin juice in his other hand.

"Good morning, guys," Harry said, smiling up at his friends. He turned to Draco, meeting his eyes. He wanted it to be understood that the Slytherin wasn't to be mean to his friends. The blonde looked back at him for a long moment before greeting the pair of Gryffindors.

"Granger, Weasley." It was pleasant enough. "I'm sorry I've been hogging your Golden Boy. I'm sure you're lost without him."

"Draco, play nice." The Slytherin gave him a half glare, holding Harry's eyes for a while before sighing and dropping his gaze.

"Harry has been very worried about you," Hermione said once she gave Harry the breakfast she brought him along with the homework from Defense Against the Dark Arts. Snape had written him a little note on it, but he hadn't read it before his friend spoke.

"He better after he caused this mess in the first place." Despite the words being quiet mean, Harry knew that the other boy was joking by the sparkle in his silver eyes and the smirk on his lips. Harry smiled back at him, glad to see how bright and silver Draco's eyes were today.

Hermione eyed the pair, noticing their laced hands locked together. There was a big difference between worried hand-holding, and _this_ hand-holding. "Can I talk to you in private, Harry?"

The Gryffindor boy looked up at Draco, silently asking him if he would be okay with simply his eyes. He received a small nod in response. Smiling gently at the blonde, he let go of his hand and followed Hermione out into the hall.

She crossed her arms against her chest, eyeing him cautiously. "I'm not blind or stupid. What is going on between you two? You don't hold hands, exchange jokes or _smile_ at Malfoy."

Harry hesitated. He hadn't talked to Draco about coming out yet, so he decided to play dumb and act like they were simply friends. "Draco and I-"

"Oh, it's _Draco_ now?"

The raven frowned, his anger starting to rise. "Yes, Hermione. He is my friend, and I use his first name. Is that a problem?" The words came out as a growl. He didn't expect Hermione to be so... unaccepting and judgmental. He thought she was bigger and better then that.

"Harry, what has gotten into you? Why are you defending him? Or have you forgotten the past five years?"

Harry found his tempter throbbing even more, his hand curling into fists in rage. "Draco isn't that bully coward anymore. He understands me in ways that even you and Ron don't. Hell, he can read me better then I can read myself. He isn't going anywhere, so I suggest you look passed his past, unless you want to be spending time with only Ron!"

The Gryffindor stormed off into the hospital wing, his anger hissing and seething behind his green eyes. Draco sat up as he approached his bed, green meeting silver. Instantly, the caring, understanding gaze made his anger simmer down, but it wasn't enough to completely erase it or dispel it from his mind. Harry sat down in his spot from before, taking Draco's hand in his own. The blonde gave him a reassuring squeeze and a smile that simply said 'It's okay. I'm here.' He went as far as placing a gentle kiss on the back of the raven's hand.

Harry smiled back at the Slytherin boy before turning his attention to Ron, who was still dumbstruck on his feet. "Ron, you better go before you're late for class."

The red-head nodded slowly, his eyes darting between Harry and Draco. His blue eyes turned to Harry's, giving him a look that read 'We're talking later.' The Gryffindor gave his friend a nod in response before Ron finally left.

Letting out a sigh, the raven dropped his head onto Draco's shoulder, finding comfort and peace in the smell that clung to the blonde's skin. "I'm sorry my friends aren't as understanding as I am. Hermione likes to hold grudges."

Draco smiled, smoothing his fingers through Harry's wild hair. "Don't worry, I'm not offended. I'm not really looking for their approval anyway. I have yours; it's enough."

The kind words touched Harry's heart. Smiling, he turned so he could see Draco's face. "Stop being so sweet. It makes it hard not to fall for you."

"Well, it's a clue that you should stop resisting." Leaning down, the blonde captured Harry's lips in a deep, meaningful kiss. The raven gladly kisses back, one of his hands resting on Draco's cheek. It was a few minutes later (and one straddled Draco later) that Harry finally broke the stream of kisses, both to catch his breath and speak with the blonde about a particular issue.

Draco leaned up to link their mouths again, but Harry chuckled, climbing off of the blonde to sit beside him on the bed. He returned to holding his hand. "We need to talk about something."

"How about how badly I'm going to shag you when I finally get out of here?"

Harry flushed a pretty pink color, shaking his head. "Well, that too, but something else, first. Something kind of important." The Slytherin noticed the seriousness of this and also sat up some. "About the school. I mean, do you want to... be public? I didn't tell Hermione because I wanted to ask you first."

The blonde squeezed his fingers. "I'm not worried if the school knows. But, when the Slytherin house finds out... I will be sleeping in the Room of Requirement for a while. But, can I owl my mother first? I've told her about my choice of a lover, but I want to tell her about us. And I haven't spoken to her in a while."

The Gryffindor smiled. "Of course you can tell her first."

"You're not going to class today either, are you?"

"No, I plan to snog you and work on some homework while you rest from our intense snogging."

Draco smirked, wiggling his eyebrows playfully. "I like that plan." He pulled Harry on top of him, their mouths moving against each other in a slow, but deep kiss. One day of bliss would hopefully last them before all hell broke lose.

It turned out to be a very pleasant day. Between making-out with Draco when Madam Pomfrey was in her office, doing his homework and delivering the note that Draco wrote for his mother to the owlery, it was a rather busy day. Draco slept for an hour here or there, but he was awake for a lot of the day. Madam Pomfrey forced him to drink bitter liquids that would help build up his strength again, and even got the boys lunch. Harry got a lot of his homework done, even the essay for Charms. He wasn't completely caught up when dinner time finally rolled around.

Madam Pomfrey did one last check over before giving Draco the okay to leave, telling him to return if he noticed anything wrong with his chest. The boys thanked the women before walking out into the empty hall; dinner had started a few minutes ago.

Draco wrapped him in his arms, kissing his temple. "I need to go shower. I'll see you at dinner. Meet me in the Room of Requirement after dinner, though?" He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, and Harry smiled at him.

"Once I finish all of this homework and talk with my friends, I will certainly be there. I'm sure they will understand." They shared a final rather passionate kiss before going their separate ways. Harry went to his common room to drop off his books, and Draco went to shower and change.

Dinner was in full swing when Harry got there. His friends waved to him, and he sat down next to Ron. The man seemed less shell shocked then before. Before either of them could get a word out, Harry said, "I will explain things when we get back to the common room. There are too many ears to hear us here."

Hermione opened her mouth to protest, but Harry's gaze shut her up quickly. After a few awkward, silent moments, Ron attempted to make conversation about their shared classes. Harry accepted it, commenting on Defense Against the Dark Arts. Hermione joined in soon enough, helping the boys understand their reading. The Gryffindor was happy to have the guidance of his female friend.

After dinner, the Golden Trio returned to the common room, sitting down on the couch closed to the fire. There were a few younger kids in there, studying, but they were too busy with their reading to notice the three of them. Harry let out a sigh, leaning back as the collected his thoughts. "I'm sorry I had to lie to you Hermione, but yes, you were right. Something is going on between Draco and I. We're dating. I hadn't talked to him about coming out yet, so I couldn't tell you, I'm sorry."

Hermione clasped a hand over her mouth in surprise. Ron looked like a deer in headlights. Harry frowned slightly. "Please, guys. Draco isn't the same man he used to be."

Hermione shook her head slowly. "I just... I saw it, but hearing you say it is completely different." Her voice was soft, still in shock.

The raven looked over at Ron, who was trying to shake his head, shake it all away. "Ron..." Harry trailed off, not knowing what to say.

Ron filled in the silence. "I can deal with you being gay, mate, but knowing you're with _Malfoy_ of all people is just... too much." Hermione nodded in agreement.

Harry frowned, afraid of this reaction. "Well, I'm with him, and he makes me happy. In fact, I'm going to take a shower, then I'm going to see him. I understand it's a shock, I know you are more tolerate then that, Hermione." With that, he stood up and went into his dorm to grab a change of clothing along with his cloak before he went to the showers.

Homework forgotten, Harry threw on his invisibility cloak and nearly ran to the seventh floor. The door was there, per usual, and Harry walked in like he owned the place. Draco was laying on a big bed in the center of the room; a fire place sat close by, giving the room warmth and a cozy color against the walls. The blonde looked beautiful with freshly washed hair hanging in his face, a plain t-shirt and a loose pair of jeans on his hips. They slipped of slightly, revealing his dark green boxers. Of course.

Smiling at the Slytherin, who hadn't noticed his presence, Harry gently set down his cloak near the door, toeing off his shoes and socks. His shirt followed before he pounced his prey from behind, wrapping his tanned arms around Draco's shoulders. He stiffened in surprise before relaxing under Harry's touch. "There you are. I was wondering how long I was going to be waiting tonight.

Harry stroke Draco's chest over the thin fabric of his shirt, playing with his nipples teasingly. "I didn't want to keep you waiting. And my friend are being assholes, since I told them about us. They don't like it. But, as you said, it doesn't matter. I have you."

"They're your best friends, though, dear. I don't think they'll simply throw you away because you're seeing someone they don't particularly like."

The Gryffindor frowned, pausing to move his hand lower on Draco, stroking his smooth stomach. "Let's not talk about them. Let's talk about us."

The blonde agreed, leaning his head back onto Harry's shoulder. "Mmm, that sounds like a wonderful idea."

"Let's start with that you're wearing too many clothes." The raven moved away slightly, pulling Draco's shirt over his head. The Slytherin pounced _him_ after that, straddling him down onto the bed and pressing their lips together. Tongue soon came into play, and things got intense. Harry wiggled under Draco's touch, hissing when his tongue hit his skin. He had never been with a man before (anyone, in fact), but the blonde obviously had some experience in the matter. He paused to pay attention to Harry's nipples with his tongue and teeth, causing the teen to moan, bucking up against the other man. Draco smirked against his skin, worshiping his abs with his thin, cool fingers. Harry's own calloused hands were on Draco's back, enjoying the smooth expand of skin back there.

Draco reached for his pants, easily opening them. Harry wiggled out of them with ease, leaving him on in his boxers. Both boys were hard at that point, and that's when the real fun started.

Harry forgot about the worries of school, of his friends, of his social life, of the war, of Voldemort, of Death Eaters and everything else that caused stress in his life. All he knew was the bed and the body that was inducing such pleasure from him. It was pure bliss for the Gryffindor, but the best part was being able to fall asleep in Draco's warm, comforting arms basking in the glow of sex. The blonde whispered sweet nothingness into his ear before both of them were out cold, tired both from the sex and the emotional drain the day took out on them. Harry slept without any nightmares that night.

**A/N: I apologize to anyone expecting me to write out the full sexy times, but I suck ass at writing it all out. I'm much better at simply implying it happened :3 I hope you enjoy your fluffy chapter of fluffiness, because major drama is about to go down. But don't worry, I can assure you that the ending will be happy and complete. Drama will become peace afterwards :3 Read, review and enjoy!  
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	12. Love is War

Harry awoke before Draco that morning, which was a pleasant surprise. The blonde's arms were snuggly wrapped around his waist, holding him close to his chest. The Gryffindor's ear was pressed up against Draco's heart, listening to the slow, steady beat of sleep. It was peaceful, and Harry was tempted to fall back asleep under it's melody. However, he knew that it was going to be time to leave soon, and he wanted to treasure this moment while he could.

He trailed his fingers along Draco's stomach, his touch feather light as to not wake the blonde beauty. The skin was smooth, soft and quite warm from the cuddling that was going on between them. Body heat was a great thing. The raven looked at Draco's chest neck, and he frowned, tracing the scars he caused with his finger. Guilt washed over him, despite the fact that he could clearly hear what Draco would say about it:_ 'I deserved it, Harry. I'll live with the scars, like I live with the one on my arm._'

He traced the Slytherin's hip bones with his finger tips, finding the way they stuck out oh-so-slightly sexy, but also worrying. Did Draco not eat enough? He had been staring at the blonde for a few weeks before the fight, but he hadn't noticed him not eating during meals. The thought made him frown slightly, but he brushed it away as he moved to a new part of Draco's body to worship: his lean, but surprisingly strong arms. His right was currently around his back, holding him close, so he studied the left.

The Dark Mark didn't alarm him; Draco had shown him in the fight already. Harry knew where Draco's heart was, and that's really all that mattered. The Slytherin didn't want to be a Death Eater; he didn't want to fight, kill, rape, pillage, destroy. He simply wanted to exist and keep his family safe from Voldemort harm. That was much easier said then done, though, and Harry knew that Draco would have to do things in the war in order to say alive or keep others alive. Voldemort would never have him kill Harry, though, which he was thankful for. He couldn't hurt Draco, even if the blonde betrayed him. He loved Draco, it was as simple as that.

Smiling, Harry buried his face into the blonde's chest, sighing gently against the skin.

"It's very hard to sleep when you're staring at me, you know."

Draco rolled over onto Harry, using his elbows to support a bit of his weight in order not to crush the raven. "Not that I mind you staring at me when I'm awake, though. I know I'm very attractive." He wiggled his eyebrows in a sexy manner, chuckling as he leaned down to capture Harry's lips with his own. The Gryffindor fisted a hand in Draco's messy blonde locks, gladly returning the kiss.

After several minutes, he pulled away, laughing breathlessly at his lover as he leaned back down to get another taste. "Draco, we have class today. You need to get caught up from being in the hospital." The blonde wasn't listening to him, busying himself with nibbling on Harry's neck.

"Draco."

"Hmm?"

"Don't leave any marks."

Draco looked up from his nibbling and smirked. "What happens if I do?"

"I will be forced to have a very awkward conversation with Hermione about what happened last night, and half of the school's females will try to kill you."

"I think I can handle those conditions."

Harry frowned, tugging on the other's blonde locks to keep his head away from his tan skin. "Well, I would rather not see you killed, so please, don't."

The Slytherin pouted at him, but he stopped. "Fine. Let's get dressed and down to breakfast before your friends come looking for you. I'm not afraid of Weasley, but Granger's got an arm on her."

The raven chuckled, remembering the time Hermione punched Draco. "You deserved it."

"Shut up."

Smirking, Harry didn't say anything else as he got dressed, tucking his invisibly cloak into his back pocket. Draco's arms wrapped around him from behind, holding onto his waist and pulling him into the blonde's warm chest. "I'm going to miss you today," he whispered, his breath tickling Harry's ear. "I hope my mother responds soon. I want to be able to snog you in public and not have people stare."

"They're still going to stare, Draco, I'm sorry to tell you." The raven smiled despite this, leaning back into the embrace. "But, I don't care if they do. Let me be jealous that I have you all to myself."

Draco smiled back, leaning in to give Harry a proper goodbye kiss. This kiss lasted longer then it should have before the blonde finally managed to pull himself away from his Gryffindor. "I suppose we should go to breakfast."

Harry nodded slowly as he gained his breath back. The Slytherin let him go after another long moment, opening the door and making a gentleman gesture for Harry to go first. The raven chuckled at the gesture, giving Draco a bow before stepping out the door. The pair walked down the hall in silence.

"You should go ahead of me in, so it doesn't make it look like we're coming into together," Draco commented quietly as they approached the main halls of the school.

Silently agreeing, the Gryffindor gave Draco once last look before stepping into the hall and into the Great Hall. His friends greeted him accusing looks hidden by smiles. Well, Hermione was the only one smiling, really. He smiled back at the girl as he sat across from the pair. "Morning, guys."

"Good morning to you too. Did you have a nice night?"

Harry flushed brightly, giving himself away. "Yes, I did in fact. But it is not something up for discussion right now." He looked at both of his friends squarely, hoping they understood. Hermione gave him a nod, and Ron was too busy trying to burry his nose in a pile of bacon to really care.

Thankfully, the bushy haired girl changed the subject, asking about his homework. He made small talk with her, glad to be able to fill his stomach without worry or fear eating away at him like the past week or so. When her attention was turned elsewhere, Harry looked over at the Slytherin table to meet Draco's silver eyes. The blonde smirked at him, slowly licking his lips and playing with his perfectly placed locks in such a way that Harry couldn't look away. Teasing bastard. The raven looked down, willing the blood not to rush either to his face or _other_ places.

Right before breakfast ended, Harry looked up again, giving Draco a smile and telling him with his eyes, 'I'll miss you.'

The Slytherin smiled back at him, his eyes lighting up into a brightness that even Harry hadn't seen before. His pride grew knowing he had such a power to make Draco happy.

Class wasn't terrible, and Harry wasn't lost despite two days of not showing up. Hermione was always good about keeping him up to date on classes he missed. Charms gave him another hour of reading to do, which he wasn't looking forward to, but Hermione would have his head if he slacked off this close to holidays.

Finally, lunch came around, and Harry eagerly found his blonde haired boyfriend, who was trying to shrug off Pansy. Jealously grew hot in his veins before he could stop it. Oh, he couldn't wait to smugly cling to Draco's arm and watch that bitch's face fall.

When silver meet green, Harry calmed down. Draco looked like he was in bad mood now, and that wasn't a good thing. The raven offered the other a smile, which wasn't returned. Fighting back the urge to frown, Harry sent over to the blonde with his eyes a simply message, 'I love you.' While they hadn't said it to each other face to face in so many words, Harry knew his feelings well. Draco didn't look up to receive this messages, though, glaring down at his plate.

Frowning, Harry turned to his own food, deciding to just wait until they could see each other later, most likely after he served his first detention with Snape this evening. He silently willed the owl carrying Draco's letter to his mother to move faster. He wasn't good at holding big secrets like this, nor did he want to, but he would respect Draco's wishes. After all, it was his family, and he wouldn't want out to find out that way if he was a parent.

The afternoon classes seemed to drag forever. And ever. And ever. Snape gave him a time and place for his detention (cleaning caldrons without the use of magic, yuck).

At last, dinner had arrived. Harry sat down early, facing the Slytherin table so he could get a good look at Draco. The blonde arrived late, and Harry grew a bit worried. Where had he been? He decided not to make a big deal about it and simply set the other a smile. Draco's grey eyes were dark with concern, and he mouthed, 'I need to talk to you.'

Harry sighed, mouthing back, 'Detention. Afterwards, though.' He ended with a smirk, wiggling his eyebrows in a flirty action. That got a smile out of his boyfriend, even if it was only a small one. Deciding that they had gotten what they needed to across, Harry focused on his dinner. His appetite had returned full force in the middle of Defense Against the Dark Arts, and the raven wasn't very happy about his grumbling stomach.

The Gryffindor decided to head to the common room early, so he could grab his invisibility cloak and take it with him to detention. That way, he could go right from detention to the Room of Requirement to see and snog with his Slytherin. Ingenious plan, he thought, to maximize his time with Draco. Their time of sneaking around was limited, thankfully. As soon as Draco got word back from his mother, they would be free to come out and tell the entire school their love for each other. Well, not that dramatic, but still. The thought made him smile as he walked up to his common room.

However, he was greeted by two very large Slytherin boys at the end of the hallway to the stair cases. And they looked _very_ happy to see him, which wasn't a good sigh. Slytherin meat head grinning at you was never good. Fuck. "Excuse me," Harry said, trying to push passed them. Maybe they would just be too stupid to stop him, or something. Their wands were drawn in a moment and pointed right at him. Harry stopped, backing away a few steps. His hand rested on his wand, which was in his pocket. It didn't do him any good in there, but he didn't know if he needed to use it quite yet. He hoped he wouldn't need it.

"Potter. I hope you've enjoyed your time with Malfoy, because it's not going to happen again," the first, dirty blonde meat head said.

"Says who?"

"Us. Pansy. The whole school. It's disgusting."

"Draco doesn't seem to think so. He enjoys it, in fact. You should hear him moan my name." Harry smirked as disgust passed over their faces.

"Shut up, you bloody Gryffindor!" the second one growled, throwing a curse at Harry that stuck in his foot. Pain shot up his leg, as he wasn't fast enough to avoid the curse in the first place. He started to draw his own wand, wincing as the pain shot up the right side of his body. Fuck. This wasn't good. He couldn't feel his hand for a moment, and the pain passed up his arm, into his shoulder.

The first one pulled another curse on him, and this time, things started to get fuzzy in his vision. He moved his hand, ready to fire his own hex to throw these assholes on their asses, but he couldn't move his lips, as the first curse reached his face. In fact, he could barely hear for a few moments. Then, it returned, and he heard something wonderful.

"Harry!" A familiar voice called his name, and he turned his head at the voice, distracted from his original thought to hex these idiots into next week. Draco. It was just enough to give the second meat head time to throw another curse at him, one that knocked _him_ on _his_ ass. Well, actually, his head to be exact, and he heard a sick crack. Great. His skull. Everything went black, but before it did, he saw a flash of blonde in his vision. A smile faintly touched his lips. Draco.

**A/N: So... I'm not good at fight scenes. Sorry about that. But, you get the idea, at least, right? Pansy figured out that Draco was seeing Harry, and she sent the Slytherin boys on our poor Harry in a jealous rage. And now Harry is hurt, badly. I would never kill him, though, be assured that he is very much alive xD The next chapter is going to have a lot of Draco POV, because Harry will not be awake for some time. We get to see into other character's mind, too ;D The next chapter is most likely going to be my last chapter, I'm afraid. This story had a great run. Thanks for sticking it out with me, guys :3 I hope to write more Drarry in the future. Like, when this one is done xD Read, review, enjoy!  
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	13. Tears of the Unknown

Panic constricted Draco's throat. Harry's body dropped to the floor, and a loud crack echoed in his ears. Fuck. The blonde boy rushed to the Gryffindor's side, placing his fingers on the side of his neck. A pulse thumped heavily under his, but the blood pooling under his head wasn't a good sign. Shaking with fear, pain and all sorts of other emotions, the blonde stood up, his jaw set. His anger over came him, and he turned to the Slytherin boys, who were smirking at each other.

Draco lost it.

Curses flew from his lips, and he had both of the boys on the ground, withering in pain. He hadn't cast anything that would get him expelled right off the bat, but damn, he was close. A pale hand suddenly gripped his wand hand, lowering it away from the boys. Draco looked up, tears of furry in his eyes only to meet Snape's worried, black eyes. "Draco," he said firmly, and the Slytherin's body shook as he put his wand away.

Harry. Harry! Draco rushed to the man's side, who was still on the ground. The blood was getting worse. He needed to get him to the hospital; he might have brain damage or something terrible like that. Snape stopped his quivering hands from attempting to scoop up the Gryffindor boy. He wandlessly casted a weightless spell on Harry before pulling the raven into his arms, carefully cradling his head. The Slytherin was hot on his heals as Snape walked briskly to the hospital wing. His silent strength calmed Draco enough for his body to stop shaking. His pounding heart, however, was having none of this calm business.

Madam Pomfrey was instantly at Snape's side, helping the man place Harry into a hospital bed. Snape's shoulder had a large blood stain on it from Harry's head, and Draco's heart dropped into his stomach. The medi-witch worked quietly and quickly, casting spells and performing actual physical tests as well. She didn't pay any attention to Draco, who was standing a few feet away from the bed, his eyes glued to Harry's face. Guilt over came him in waves, and he waved on his feet from the intensity of it all. Tears soaked his face.

"Mr. Malfoy, sit down before you faint. You're white as a ghost." Madam Pomfrey's voice broke through his emotional way, and he nodded numbly, sitting down near Harry's bed, but giving her room to work or the time being. Once he was stable, Draco would be right there, just as Harry had been for him. The thought of the love and care that Harry showed to him that day was almost too much to bear, and more tears followed the others down his face. A handkerchief was placed on his lap, and he gave the medi-witch a thankful look before burrowing his face into the fabric. '_All my fault,_' his thoughts told him. '_I should have gotten to him faster. I should have told him before he could leave._'

It was like that for nearly an hour. Draco sat with his face in the cloth while Madam Pomfrey simply did her work to save Harry's life. A shy, scared voice broke his guilty, depressed thoughts. "Umm, Mr. Malfoy, sir?"

Draco looked up to find a second year Slytherin boy at his side, looking worried and mildly afraid. He knew this boy. This boy was named Colin; he had helped him with his potions last year briefly, only because Snape asked him to. "Yes, Colin?" He kept his tone calm and even, as not to snap at the boy.

"Is he going to be alright?"

"I'm not sure, Colin. But, can you do me a favor? Can you go find Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger? They're sixth year Gryffindors. Or at least, find Snape and ask him to tell them? Harry is their friend."

The dirty blonde boy seemed more then happy to comply. "Yes, Mr. Malfoy."

"It's just Draco, Colin." Despite himself, the blonde smiled a little at him. He was a good kid. Why he was in Slytherin, Draco would never know.

"Oh, okay, Draco." With that, he left to go find the Gryffindors in question. With him gone, Draco sank back into his worried, depressed state.

Madam Pomfrey gave a great sigh, causing Draco to look up, expecting the worst. Did Harry lose all of his memories in the fall? Would he never be able to remember who he was, who his friends were, what was going on the world? Would he never be able to learn again? But, the witch gave him a sad smile. "Mr. Potter has a bad concussion. None of his brain has been damaged permanently, but as of right now, I have no idea when he will wake up. He is breathing, his heart rate is normal paced, but weak. We will have to wait it out for the time being. I'm sorry I cannot tell you more." Draco let out a sigh, moving his chair next to Harry's bed and taking one of his lifeless hands in his own.

"Thank you, Madam Pomfrey." His voice shook, betraying all of the worry and fear he felt at the moment.

She smiled at him, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. "He'll be okay, Draco. Don't kill yourself with worry. He'll be happy to know that you waited for him, just like he waited for you not too long ago." With that, the older women returned to her office to tell the teachers of Harry's condition, so they did not simply think he was skipping class.

Draco gently patted his face with the cloth, taking in a deep breath as the sobs calmed in his chest. He needed to be the strong one. He needed to keep it together, for Harry, at least. He kissed Harry's calloused knuckle, smoothing his thumb over the rough skin of his Gryffindor's hand. The desire to protect was hot in his blood, and he knew it wasn't going to fade any time soon, even after Harry woke up. He wondered if it would ever fade completely, but the chances weren't great. Harry was his, and none one was going to take the raven way from him.

He was given a half hour of peace and quiet to suffer in silence, his heart hammering in his chest. He hoped that it wouldn't open up his freshly healed wounds. After that half hour was up, a very worried Granger and an angry Weasley came tumbling in. Draco's grip tightened slightly on Harry's hand as he looked up to greet them with simply his eyes. They were blood-shot by now, red and puffy from all of the crying. Granger gasped as she saw the Slytherin, and if he was in a normal state of mind, he might have smirked at her surprise. But he simply frowned at them before returning his attention to Harry. Not that was any reason to give him attention, but he didn't want to speak with either of the other two. It would only remind him that it was his fault that Harry was like this.

Granger went around the other side of the Gryffindor, a deep frown pressed into her mouth. She gently fingered his hand, watching him for a moment before looking at Draco. "What happened, Malfoy? That Slytherin boy just told us that Harry was here. He didn't explain why."

The blonde grit his teeth, holding back either tears or angry screams, he didn't know. But after a deep breath, he was able to speak in simple terms. "Pansy found out about us and sent a pair of Slytherin boys after Harry to get back at me for breaking up with her and dating Harry. Jealousy, I suppose, would be her motivation. She thought if she got rid of Harry, that I would want to date her instead. Pansy told me that she would hurt Harry, and I ran off to catch him when he left early at lunch, but I was a few minutes too late..." His voice broke at the end, betraying him greatly.

Weasley looked like he was about to explode with anger. "Who are they? I'll kill 'em..."

Granger was on top of the problem quickly, frowning at the ginger boy. "Ron, not now. Harry will decide if he wants those boys to get in trouble. He's the one who got hurt." She placed a hand on his arm, and he calmed some, but the frown of disappointment didn't leave his face.

In some twisted way, Draco wanted to smile at the pair of them. The two of them were perfectly balanced. Just like Harry and him. The Slytherin had to look away before the two Gryffindor's saw his tears. A small, but firm hand landed on his shoulder. "He'll be okay, Draco. Harry always pulls through." The blonde blinked several times at Granger's comforting words before he managed a nod. '_My little Gryffindor..._' he thought, smoothing his thumb over Harry's hand. It was a comforting action, despite his hand being colder then normal from lack of movement.

Granger smiled at him, pulling up a chair to sit on the other side of Harry. He looked up to meet her bright brown eyes. "You really love him, don't you?"

The question caught him off guard. Sure, Draco knew that he was in love with Harry, but they hadn't said it to each other yet. They didn't need to. It was simply something known, something felt in their touches, in their smiles, in their eyes. So, hearing it out loud was odd, to say the least. But, his answer was firm.

"Yes."

He silently promised himself if Harry pulled through this, that he would tell him that he loved him. He would make it vocal instead of implied, instead of simply felt. It would mean something, even more so the bloody Gryffindor who wore his heart on his sleeve. The thought made him smile slightly to himself. It gave him a bit of hope to cling to as they simply waited.

Granger and Ron went to dinner so they could both eat and tell the others about Harry. The teachers knew, of course, but they hadn't told the school so Harry wouldn't have too many visitors while he was still unconscious. Unnecessary noise in the hospital wing was never a good thing. Granger brought Draco back something to eat, encouraging to keep himself somewhat healthy so he didn't end up passing out or something before Harry woke up. The blonde managed to stomach a few bites, even if his stomach was in tight knots.

After dinner, another ginger arrived to see the raven: the Weaslette. Draco glared at her, knowing what she did to Harry. But upon closer inspection, she was crying. She took Granger's place, holding onto Harry's other hand and telling him to wake up through her tears. This stunned the Slytherin slightly, but he didn't say anything or really acknowledge the girl. He simply wasn't hostile to her.

It took some time, but her tears stopped, and she looked in Draco's direction. The blonde was staring at his and Harry's locked hands, simply thinking, hoping, even praying that Harry would wake up without pain, without fear, without worry. He didn't deserve the stress put on him.

"Malfoy?"

The Slytherin looked up from his thoughts, raising an eyebrow at the Weasley girl in question.

"Why don't you go get some sleep? It's late, and you look like hell."

"Thank you for that, Weaslette, but I'm not leaving until Harry does."

"I can keep an eye on him, you know."

"I'm aware you can see, but Harry wouldn't leave me, and I'm not leaving him when he needs me."

Something flashed in her eyes as she studied Draco's face. The determination must have given her some sort of idea. Or the constant tears gleaming in his clouded grey eyes. Or even the small spark that he got whenever his eyes laid upon Harry.

"You love him." It wasn't a question, simply a statement, but Draco felt the need to answer none the less.

"Yes, I do."

"Does he love you?"

"He sat with me for thirty-nine hours after we fought. He lied to Granger to protect me. You can guess yourself, or ask him when he wakes up. I know that he does, though. The way he looks at me speaks mountains. The way he kisses me, the way he touches me, the way he simply breathes, it all tells me what words could never say properly." Draco's eyes burned with intensity, and his heart gave a painful thump.

The Weasley fell silent after that, playing with Harry's fingers in a thoughtful manner. Draco felt a bit of pride that he could leave her speechless. Serves her right being so noisy. But she did care about Harry, so he supposed it was acceptable. He couldn't compare it to his own life, as he didn't have any close friends (well, _real_ friends, at least), but he could understand the idea.

The three Gryffindors took their leave around midnight, leaving Draco alone with the Golden Boy. It was odd how quickly he just became _Harry_ in Draco's mind. Or, perhaps, he had always been just Harry. Never 'The Boy Who Lived' or 'The Chosen One.' Simply 'Potter' or as of late, 'Harry'. Fame never mattered between them. It didn't matter that Harry had to kill Voldemort, or that Draco was a Death Eater. It didn't matter that Harry didn't have parents, or Draco's father was insane with power. It didn't even matter that they were in rival houses.

On a base, human level, they were the same. They carried the weight of the world on their shoulders. They were teenage boys who had been given power they never truly wanted. They were scared of the future and what they had to do. They each had one path they had to follow or face great disaster, personal or other wise.

None of that mattered, though, as Draco sat with Harry. They existed, and each breath was a gift. That was enough.

**A/N: I've decided to split this ending up into two parts, since it was getting rather long, and I don't want to have a randomly huuuuge chapter. But, never fear, the other half will be up sometime tonight. I've already got a good chunk of it done. As always, read, review, enjoy!**


	14. Hope Remains

Three days passed before something finally happened. It was mid-morning, and Hermione (yes, they had gotten on a first name basis at that point, given the circumstances) had stopped by to bring him another assignment for his classes. She was keeping him up to date the best she could, talking with Blaise (his roommate) to bring her his books and a change of clothing on day two. He thanked her once for her troubles, and she simply smiled at him and said, "You've been sitting there for two days straight. I'm happy to see that Harry has someone to love him for who he is, and not just his many titles. I'm happy to help."

Even Weasley started to come around. "Malfoy, go shower and change. You look like shit. I can watch him for fifteen minutes." Well, that was the closest thing to a kind word that Draco was going to get out of him, but he couldn't say he expected much more then that in the first place. He wasn't exactly kind himself. Civil when needed, but not friendly. It was a start.

Hermione added another parchment to his growing pile of books and parchments. He was reading some pages in his Defense Against the Dark Arts book, glancing up at the Gryffindor. "Any changes?" she asked, smoothing her fingers over Harry's fringe on his forehead.

The Slytherin shook his head. "Nothing yet. Madam Pomfrey seems hopeful, though." Closing his book, he put it down on his pile of school work, holding Harry's rough hand in both of his own pale hands. Tears pricked at his eyes, and he wondered how he had tears left. The first day, he had cried more then he had in his entire life before hand. Where did they keep coming from? Pressing the raven's hand to his lips, he gave it a gentle kiss. He wondered if Harry was dreaming, and if so, about him. He pictured them in a peaceful place, where nothing could hurt them. They had nothing to care about besides simply existing. It was a tempting future.

Hermione sighed, drawing him from his thoughts. "Okay. I need to get to Charms. I'll bring you lunch, okay?"

Draco gave a nod. Then, there was movement between his hands, and a sore, cracked voice hit his ears. "Dr... Draco?" The blonde jumped to his feet in alarm, gently holding onto Harry's hand still.

"I'm here, Harry, I'm here," he muttered to the almost awake boy, crouching down a bit so he was close to Harry's face and he could see those bright green eyes. They were watching him, searching his own.

"Are you okay?"

"Dear, that is something I should be asking _you._" Draco chuckled slightly. "Bloody Gryffindors, always caring about others."

"Did... Did those boys hurt you?"

Draco shook his head. Harry opened his mouth to speak more, but Draco covered his lips with a finger. "Don't use up all of your energy. Rest, I'll answer all of your other questions."

Hermione was on the other side of Harry now, holding his other hand and giving a smile through her tears. He smiled back at her before turning those beautiful eyes to me. "I arrived a moment before the curse they cast on you made you drop to the ground. You hit your head, and you received a bad concussion. You've been out for three days now. You will be fine with rest and time. I will gladly hold you down to your bed if you don't take proper time to rest. You're not made of glass, but you aren't made of steel, either. Don't scare me like that again." The last part was whispered as tears pricked at his eyes.

Harry smiled at him reaching up to smooth his fingers through Draco's messy hair. It was comforting for the blonde, and he closed his eyes, enjoying the touch more then breathing itself. "I can't promise that I won't. Us Gryffindors always get ourselves into trouble." His voice was weak, as was his laugh, but it was real, and it made Draco's heart thump in his chest. This time, it wasn't out of fear or worry.

Draco threw a look at Hermione, hoping she would understand. She looked back, reading his eyes before she smiled at him. The Slytherin wanted some alone time with Harry before everyone came rushing to his side to greet the man. "I have to get to Charms, Harry, but I'll be back at lunch, and I'll bring Ron and Ginny to see you. Hagrid will want to see you as well."

The Gryffindor gave his friend a nod in response, watching her leave before Draco cleared his throat. "Harry, I'm sorry. This was my fault. I knew Pansy was going to do this, and I tired to tell you, and I wasn't fast enou-" He was cut off by a pair of lips over his own. The kiss was chaste, gentle and so sweet it made Draco's heart ache.

"Don't blame yourself. You saved my life."

The Slytherin opened his mouth to say other wise, but the sparkle in Harry's eyes made him stop. He couldn't destroy that happiness to be right. Despite him being Slytherin, he was turning into a damn Hufflepuff for this boy.

"I love you," Draco breathed, shifting to curl one of his hands into Harry's unmanaged raven locks.

The Gryffindor smiled up at him so bright that he thought his face would split in half. "I love you too, Draco." They shared another kiss, and the world stopped for a moment. Perfection wasn't real, but in that kiss, it existed if only for a fleeting second.

Draco's grip tightened around Harry's hand, reminding the raven that he was still sitting patiently beside him. It was lunch time, and instead of eating, many of the Gryffindors were gathered around Harry, greeting him with smiles. Ginny had practically crushed him with a hug when she arrived. Now, the ginger girl was standing next to Draco, watching Harry with a practiced eye. Draco smirked to himself, knowing she was watching him to see the love, the spark, the hope in his eyes that was only for the Slytherin. Despite turning into a Hufflepuff, Draco still enjoyed winning. Harry wasn't simply a prize, but it was still nice to see jealousy in Ginny's eyes behind the smiles.

Neville took kindly to the blonde at Harry's side. Draco had long since given up on being a bully to Longbottom, focusing on Harry and his best friends instead. So, the pair of boys were on civil, neutral ground as of yet.

Seamus was flustered at the sight of the two of them together, and Harry caught the way he was looking at Dean. He smirked knowingly, chuckling at the Irish man. "Jeez. Seamus, you looked like you wanted to gut me when I came out." The man flushed more, shaking his head.

"I was just surprised, Harry, sorry."

"It's alright. I understand." He winked, looking over at Dean. Seamus just turned even brighter red and hid behind the crowd.

The Weasley twins seemed to get more then a kick about the relationship between Draco and Harry. "Fallen for the Ferret, Harry?" Fred asked, smirking loudly.

"Why yes, I have, Fred. I enjoy a very human, Draco, though."

"How's his shagging?" the other twin asked, causing a small gasp from Harry, who flushed deeply.

Draco, on the other hand, quirked an eyebrow. "Jealous that you're not getting any, Weasley?"

The discussion of their sex life ended after that, thankfully. Though, the blonde did whisper in the Gryffindor's ear, "Stop blushing. It makes me want to just climb on top of you in front of all of these people and give them a demonstration." This, of course, caused Harry to flush more, glaring half heartedly at his grinning boyfriend. Stupid prat.

The buzz died down about Harry's awakening by dinner time. Harry was confined to the bed still, so Madam Pomfrey had one of the elves send up food for the two boys still in the hospital wing (she had kicked everyone else out a few minutes before hand). Finally, Draco could eat with ease, as his stomach no longer sat in his knots nor was his throat closed up with tears and fear.

The pair finished eating, and Harry got a sparkle in his eye that Draco knew anywhere. Just as he was about to pounce his Gryffindor prince, Snape waltz in. "Professor Snape," Harry greeted him, sounding sourly disappointed.

"Hello, Potter. Feeling better? Draco was very much worried about you."

"Yes, Sir. I'd imagine you didn't come to just chat, though?"

"Smart you are, Potter. I came up here to ask you if you would like to seek punishment for the boys who did this to you. They are in my house, much to my dismay, so their punishment falls on my shoulders."

Draco met Harry's eyes, urging him to seek punishment for the pair of boys that hurt _his_ raven. But Harry simply shook his head. "No, Professor. I do not want to seek revenge. Punish them, but do not be harsh. They will see the error of their ways in time, and the guilt will be punishment enough."

Snape raised his eyebrows, but didn't say anything else on the matter. "I also came to inform you that you do not have to attend detention until Madam Pomfrey says you are fully recovered from your injury."

Harry gave a nod, figuring that was it. But Snape continued. "Finally, as Draco's god father, I feel it is my duty to tell you not to hurt my god son."

At this, Harry smiled, tightening his grip around Draco's hand and looking at the blonde affectionately. "I will not, Sir. I would never imagine hurting Draco."

The teacher gave a slow nod. "Very well, then. I will see you in class Monday, then, Potter." And he was gone in a flash of black robes.

Draco blinked. "Well, then. That was interesting. Snape was never really that much of a outwardly caring god father. He did favor me in school, bias of course, but he's never done something like that."

Harry simply smiled at him. "It's nice to see that Snape does care about some people. He cold ninety-nine percent of the time." The smile was infectious, leaving the blonde smiling as well. He leaned in, ready to snog the piss out of his Gryffindor. He only got a few kisses in before someone cleared their throat from behind him, causing him to snap away from Harry in surprise.

Dumbledore stood a few feet away from the bed, watching the boys with a small smile on his face. "Hello, Harry, Draco. It's nice to see you well, Harry. You gave us all quite a scare there."

Harry flushed slightly, clearing his throat. "I'm glad to be back, sir."

"It is my understanding that you and Mr. Malfoy are romantically involved?"

"Yes, sir."

"Would you mind if I have a word with him in private, then?"

"No, sir. He's been sitting here with me for three days now; I'm sure he wouldn't mind leaving for a little while."

Draco didn't enjoy being talked about like he wasn't there, but finally Dumbledore looked at him directly. "Let us go to my office, Draco. I'll make us some tea."

The blonde gave a nod at his headmaster, his heart picking up speed. He gave Harry a smile and a kiss on the forehead before releasing his hand and following the old man up to his office. Settling down into an arm chair in front of the headmaster's desk, Draco watched the tea pour itself into two cups. He sipped his quietly, his nerves making his body tense. Fuck. He hoped that he wouldn't have to talk to the headmaster before his mission, as it would only make it harder to do the mission, but it seems he had lost that battle.

Dumbledore was quiet, thoughtful for a few moments before he finally spoke. "Harry loves you very much, Draco."

Draco swallowed sharply. "And I him. He means more to me then anything."

The older man raised an eyebrow curiously, studying the younger man before him. "Anything?"

"Yes." His tone was hard, firm. The headmaster wasn't going to break him.

He leaned back after a moment of watching the Slytherin, thinking. "I hope that this war does not cause problems with your relationship. I would hate to see such true love broken because of such silly reasons."

"We don't talk about the war. We simply live each day as it comes."

"I see. Well, I wish you well, Draco. Don't hurt Harry. He doesn't need anything else on his shoulders right now."

"I would never hurt him." Draco's jaw tensed, and the old man blinked, alarmed at his sudden anger.

"I believe you wouldn't hurt the boy on purpose, Draco. But these are hard times."

The blonde forced himself to nod stiffly in response. Dumbledore gave him a smile after that, dismissing him.

'_Crazy old bat_,' the Slytherin thought to himself as he left the office. Despite this, Draco knew that it wouldn't be any easier to kill that man by the school years end. He wasn't a bad person. He carried about Harry. He was a powerful wizard, as well.

Sighing, Draco cleared his mind as well as his eyes. He didn't need to return to Harry angry or upset. The headmaster was right; Harry didn't need anything else on his shoulders right now. When the time came, he would deal with it then. He still had time to enjoy with the Gryffindor before he had to think about it. The thought made him smile as he stepped back into the hospital wing. His green eyed boyfriend was right where he left him, fast asleep. All of the guests had worn him out. Draco watched him sleep, committing it all to memory. With every breath, the end grew nearer, and he never wanted it to end.

Four months had passed since the incident. It was spring, and things were starting to come alive. The air was clean, fresh with flowers and love. Harry had just finished his detention with Snape, and it was nearing nine-thirty, the time that him and Draco agreed to meet in the Room of Requirement. The invisibly cloak easily covered his body. Mrs. Norris ran past him, and he chuckled slightly when he was out of her sight. Stupid cat.

The door was there to greet him. Draco usually got their first, for some reason. His common room was at the bottom level of the school, and yet the Room of Requirement was on the seventh floor. He didn't give a second thought as he pushed the door open, leaving his cloak by the entrance. The sounds of a soft, but rather sad piano melody greeted him. It perked his interest. Draco hadn't planned in a while, even more so something so sad.

With a small frown on his lips, the Gryffindor crossed the room, taking a seat beside his boyfriend at the piano bench. Draco didn't give him a greeting of any sort, but the blonde knew he was there. His head was bowed, his fringe swaying gently against his forehead. His brow was pulled tight in a sort of pain. Something was wrong, yet Harry didn't say anything. He knew better then to ask. If Draco wanted to share it with him, he would. If he didn't, Harry wasn't going to make him. They were close, but respect was something that they both gave each other. The both had secrets they weren't willing to share, and Harry gave his boyfriend privacy when he wanted it.

So, with a small sigh in his throat, Harry rested his cheek on Draco's shoulder, wrapping an arm around his waist. It was a silent comfort and support to whatever troubled the Slytherin. Draco simply played, the music telling any emotions he was feeling at the moment. They didn't need to speak. Speaking would ruin the magic of the moment. It would ruin the simplicity of their relationship. There was never a need to tell each other their problems; the other party just understood.

Harry gave his quiet comfort, allowing Draco the company as he played out his emotions. Draco was silently thankful for a supportive partner, even if he had no idea what was going on. He was sure that leaving Harry in the dark right now would just be better in the end. He would get hurt, but Draco allowed himself a bit of selfishness. He wanted Harry. He wanted Harry happy, alive. He wanted to see his green eyes lit up with hope and happiness. He wanted to see his smile, hear his laugh, feel his touch. He wanted to kiss him, cuddle him, hold him, hug him. He wanted to love Harry without a 'but' in the equation. It was selfish, but he was willing to accept that if he could have Harry to himself, even for just a few short weeks longer. Then, everything would change.

In the moment, though, only they existed. There was no war, no family, no Voldemort, no Dumbledore, no Death Eaters, no Chose One and there wasn't two sides to the coin. The peace wouldn't last for long, but Draco planned to treasure each moment for as long as possible. He would engrave it into his mind so he could look back years later and know that only _he_ could make Harry's eyes light up like that.

With every breath the two boys took, they knew that they were limited, but time stood still in the music. Nothing could hurt him. The love they shared blossomed.

And that was worth keeping hope that the future would be a bright one passed the storm that was rolling in.

**A/N: This story is complete. I cried writing the last scene, I'm not gonna lie D: I'm so sad that this story is coming to a close; I really enjoyed writing it. But, fear not, I have more Drarry ideas, and I will hopefully be starting another story this week, if I can get my ideas down on paper/the computer, that is xD Please read, review and enjoy. I hope the ending was as emotional for you as it is for me D:**


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